Naruto Uzumaki Returns: The Power of the Namikaze Clan
by IndyLegend
Summary: When Naruto Returns to the Leaf after training with Jiraya for 3 years many things have changed. Naruto has gotten taller, more attractive, and seems to have quite the way with women (Not that he knows). Looking to restart his Clan and honor his promise, Watch as the Ninja we know grows up and becomes a legend... NarutoxTemari -Reals Sage Naruto @PleaseReview@
1. Prologue

**Hey Guys First FanFic here, just thought I would try it out. Please leave any comments, improvements, or hate on any or all of my writing. I want criticism so I can become a better writer and overall improve. Also if I have mispelled any names, Jutsu, or anything make sure you comment so I pick up on it and revise. Thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and most definitely never will. :/**

**FLASH BACK-**

"Naruto!"

"Sasuke!"

The two figures collided, Chidori hitting Rasengan. Both yelled as the Jutsu's fought for power and soon they were completely shrouded in the energy of the collision. Instantly the area was enveloped in a black energy. It grew, disrupting the normally peaceful flow of the waterfall, making it cascade in random directions. Naruto's eyes closed, a slight smile on his face. He had never wanted to hurt Sasuke, only to bring him back. At the last moment he had chosen to divert his Rasengan from Sasuke's heart to his forehead protector. Even if he himself could survive a direct hit from the Chidori, he knew his friend could not hope to survive his attack.

He had managed to scratch Sasuke's forehead protector, that was enough. _Why Sasuke? All I want is to bring you home, home to the leaf village. Your my best friend, don't do this._

The two boys hit the ground at the same time, one crumpled in a bloody heap, the other standing precariously. Sasuke's breathing became even more erratic as the effects of the curse marks kicked in causing him to cry out in pain and fall to his knees. He looked into the eyes of his team mate, his rival, and even more importantly, his friend. How could Naruto ever understand? Slowly the Uchiha rose to his feet.

Sasuke stood grimacing over Naruto's body, one day he would see him again, one day they would fight again, that much he was sure. That day the rain fell in sheets, dripping from the heavens. Konoha itself was crying, Sasuke stumbled away in the rain. _I must find the power to kill my brother, Itachi must die!_

When Naruto woke he was slung over Kakashi's shoulder. The tall Grey haired Ninja looked at him with sadness, and relief.

"Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto asked, still slightly unconscious. _Where is he?! Why don't I see him..._ "What about Sasuke?"

**FLASH FORWARD-**

Naruto stood near the gate's of Konoha, a very tall man with a distinctive horned forehead protecter and long whitish gray hair stood at his side. Jiraya looked down at Naruto and couldn't help but smile to himself. _No question, that's Minato's boy. _

Naruto himself was fixated on the faces of the Hokages, proudly carved into the stone of the mountainside over looking the leaf. _I won't mess around any more, I won't be the dead last. I will get stronger, I will find Sasuke, I will become Hokage... And I won't ever give up!_

_I'll find you Sasuke, and I'll bring you home._

Naruto grimaced in determination. He held him arm out towards the faces carved into the mountain. Gritting his teeth Naruto dug his finger nails deep into his palm, causing the blood to flow freely. That day he made a promise to himself, a promise signed in blood.

With that final thought Naruto and Jiraya started off on there journey, the blond boy raised his bloodied hand in farewell to his friends, before setting off into the world.

**FLASH FORWARD 3 YEARS-**

"Naruto!" Jiraya called as he ran towards his surrogate son. It was a sunny day, the sky was almost a perfect shade of blue. Small clouds dotted the sky here and there, but none of them threatened rain. _He look's so much like his father... _Jiraya thought as he stopped ten feet away from Naruto.

Naruto looked up and smiled at his mentor. "Are you ready to spar?" He asked as he dusted off his pants.

He had been meditating in this clearing for what had seemed like minutes, but had actually been several hours. Jiraya at the beginning of their journey had told Naruto about the powers of being a sage, and ever since Naruto had started to train. 3 days of the week he spent in Mount Myoboku, training under the toads.

The training came naturally to him, after 6 weeks with the toads he was able to complete a perfect sage transformation. Unlike Jiraya's Sage transformation, none of Naruto's features were altered except for his eyes, which appeared somewhat toadlike, and had a bright orange sheen. Since the day Naruto had completed Sage training, he had worked on making the gathering of Nature Energy faster and more efficient. Currently he could transform in a little under a minute, but even that short of a time could mean life or death on the battle field for him or his friends.

In the three years Naruto spent with Jiraya he had changed much more than obtaining the powers of the sage. Mentally Naruto was much much more mature than when he began his journey. He was no longer quite as rash and reckless, and he used his head before he had to use his fists. His demeanor was still radiating happiness, but he was more serious, and even more determined then when he left the leaf.

Much of this was due to what Jiraya had told him close to a year into their journey, about his parents. Although Jiraya knew the secret was S class, he felt it was important to tell the boy. Naruto was quite shocked to say the least, and afterwards felt angry and sad. How could his father have done this to him? Sealing a tailed beast inside his own son? What was he thinking. Did he know what kind of life Naruto would live? He was alone, all alone. How could his parents leave him an orphan. After hours alone in the woods he came to peace with his parents, and there actions. He knew they had only wanted the best for him, and for their village.

Naruto had been filled with a new sense of pride and determination, his father was Minato Namikaze, his father was the Fourth Hokage.

Physically Naruto had changed immensely as well. He now stood at the impressive height of 6"2, which was taller than most Ninja he had encountered. Ever since Naruto had been forced to changed his eating habits, and had started to train with the Sannin, he had packed on a lot of muscle. Any traces of baby fat across his body had been burned away over his years training with Jiraya. He found he could run faster, and strike with more force than he could ever before. His hair had also grown longer, and even more wild.

The fox boy had even changed his attire. He gave up wearing the orange jumpsuits, realizing they looked quite foolish. In place he wore a tight fitting short black kimono that hugged his impressive body. Not only was it not a nuisance in battle, but it enabled him to move faster than his baggy jumpsuit had. Under this he wore a mesh shirt and the necklace Tsunade gave him with the crystal of the first Hokage. His arms were bound in white cloth, and over this dark red wrist and forearm protecters. He had repositioned his forehead protector which was now securely held in place over his shoulder, much like Shikamaru's. In place of the traditional blue shinobi sandals Naruto wore black combat boots, he liked the added protection they provided to his feet. He also sported dark red shin protectors over his cloth bound ankles, which allowed him to block and attack with his legs, they were specifically designed to not hinder the wearer's movement in any way.

Naruto face became serious as his mentor took up his fighting stance.

"I won't go easy on you, pervy sage!" The blond haired teen yelled. _I need to show him everything I've got. I'm ready._

10 minutes later the field was completely destroyed, trees were fractured and splintered, any remaining grass was on fire and smoking. In the middle of the field lied Jiraya and Naruto. Both wore massive grins on their faces.

"Damn kid, looks like your catching up to me." The Sannin half croaked as he tried to get up but couldn't. Naruto got to his feet slowly then walked over to him and held out his hand, which was firmly clasped by Jiraya. When the two were up on their feet Naruto exclaimed, "Yeah I guess I'm getting better?" Ever since Naruto had figured out Shadow clones could be used to expedite training immensely he had been able to perfect creating the Rasengan in only one hand.

"Let's get cleaned up and start to head back." Jiraya said wiping his face on his arm.

Naruto was excited, and he had reason to be. He was about he see his friends again, he hadn't seen them in 3 years. He missed them all, well some more than others. And yet at the same time he was disappointed, disappointed his journey with Jiraya was coming to an end. Jiraya was truly one of his precious people, and although he knew who his father was now, he would always look up to Jiraya as just that.

Two figures walked toward the gates of the Leaf Village. Both were very tall, one being slightly taller than the other. The taller of the two had long spiky white hair that fell about a little more than halfway down his back. He was clad in a red and green kimono, and had his signiture horned Forehead protecter on.

The other figure was dressed in a black kimono with cloth binding his shins and forearms. The most distinctive thing about him was his unruly golden yellow hair, which almost seemed to shine in the bright sunlight. His sapphire colored eyes gleamed with anticipation, and he bore a huge smile, revealing slightly elongated canines. He was finally back, it was going to be a good day...


	2. Chapter 1: Roomate

**Alright guys Chapter 2! Please comment and Review... Thanks!**

When the two reached the Gate they were greeted by several Chunin and allowed to pass on into the village. Jiraya agreed that he and Naruto would meet with the Hokage that afternoon, as it was only 9am. Taking off Naruto wanted to explore the village. It looked much the same, but it had a different feel. Smiling the fox boy scaled the side of a building, and then jumped higher onto the top of a chimney. His eyes widened as he looked at the faces carved into the stone. To his amusement Tsunade's face was now present among them. _What is this Im feeling? _He remembered the last time he had been in the village.

Naruto glanced at the blank mountain side to the right of Tsunade's face, that was his stone. His face would be there, no question. He had not given up, and he never would. Naruto glanced down at his right hand, he remembered his promise. _Sasuke. It had been years, 3 years._

Sasuke would have to wait for later. Naruto jumped down from his perch hitting the ground with more force than he intended. Suddenly 30 pairs of eyes were on him, villagers buying produce in the market simply stood and stared. Naruto at first wore a scowl, but soon realized these were not the stares he received when he was younger. Before they stared out of hatred and resentment, they didn't want the demon child. But now they looked in amazement, and some of the men in jealousy. He saw several women grow slight blushes as they took in his appearance. _What's going on? _

He sheepishly rubbed the back of his as the staring continued.

"N-nnaruto?" A pink haired girl asked from behind him. Naruto turned to see Sakura staring at him in disbelief. His immediate thought was that she was beautiful. She had obviously grown. Her body was much more curvy than before, her chest actually quite impressive.

"Hey Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed as he closed the distance between the two. _She's as pretty as I remember. _Naruto thought as he was now only a foot away from her. _She smells like lavender. _

_"_Your even more beautiful than I remember," he said smiling.

"Naruto w-what," she was silenced as he pulled her into a warm hug. She broke out in a smile as she returned the hug. He was so, well different. _He's tall, and kind of handsome... _Sakura felt her face start to heat up and pushed away from his warm embrace.

"It's been a long time hasn't it?" She said smiling.

"It sure has, kami I've missed this place." Naruto stretched his arms behind his back and glanced around at the village. It was good to be home. Had it really been three years? He then looked back at Sakura causing her to blush even more. _Whats going on? Why does she seem, well nervous around me. _His thoughts were interrupted when his stomach growled loudly causing a giggle to escape from Sakura's lips. He smiled sheepishly.

"Well I'm going to go get some ramen before I meet with Baa-Chan." The blonde said as he smiled at Sakura. "See you around!" With that Naruto walked off towards Ichiraku playing the encounter over in his mind.

Little did Naruto know Sakura had just stood there for several minutes, gawking at the direction Naruto had left in. He had managed to turn the head of every villager he had went by. Many had murmured things such as, "Is that the fourth?" or "Who's that hotty?"

Sakura was amazed, he was so different. She had to tell Ino, and well everyone. Giggling to herself Sakura ran off to the flower shop, still sporting an impressive blush.

Jiraya sat atop a nearby building snickering pervishly to himself. His student was oblivious to his surrounding. When would Naruto learn how to read women?

When Naruto arrived at Ichiraku he was officially spooked. Turning around for about the fifteenth time on his walk Naruto saw a collection of girls about 30 feet to his right pointing and smiling at him. The fox boy groaned.

This was getting interesting. With a sigh Naruto entered Ichiraku and sat on a stool. "Hey old man can I get a bowl of Miso with extra pork?" He asked cheerfully. The cook turned to him and glared.

"Who are you calling old man? Please sir show some respect." Ichiraku said as he turned back to the pot. Naruto sweatdropped and let his head hang low. This day was just getting better and better. Just then Ayame entered from the back of the shop. _Damn she's stunning... Brown hair mid back length, hazel eyes, an impressive chest, curvy hips..._

"Pop whos thi-" Ayame was cut off as Naruto yelled, "Ayame Nee-chan!" He then proceeded to get up and embrace the girl. She was startled to say the least, who was this man. Naruto was so happy to see Ayame he barely caught the growl coming from his left. He turned just in time to receive a pan in the face from none other than Ichiraku.

"Get your hands off my daughter!" He yelled as the metal hit it's target with a loud dong!

Naruto jumped back in surprise and pain. "Don't you remember me old man, it's Naruto Uzumaki..."

"Naruto-Kun!" Ayame yelled as she hugged him. He looked back at Ichiraku smiling at him, he was obviously embarrassed.

"Sorry about that, didn't recognize you there.. You've changed quite a lot Naruto." The old man said as he gave the pot another stir.

"You've really grown up Naruto," Ayame said quietly as she regretfully ended there embrace. _God he's a man now, just look at him. _A faint blush began to spread to her cheeks as she took in his ruggedly handsome features.

Naruto smiled at the two, then began to eat his ramen. The two gaped as they watched him eat slowly, and not like a total maniac.

One of the many things Naruto had learned from his time with Jiraya was manners. Along with this came the culinary arts, which Naruto had taken a keen interest to. He could now cook many things, primarily breakfast foods such as french toast and scrambled eggs. After Naruto finished the remnants of his bowl he thanked Ichiraku for his ramen and handed the man his bill plus a very generous tip.

"Good to be back," He said flashing them a foxy smile. He turned to leave but stopped as if he forgot something. "Oh and AyameNee-Chan?" he asked as he spun around.

"Yes?" she asked, her blush beginning to grow more intense.

"I was wondering.. well if you wanted to get something to eat with me tomarrow night?" he said with a nervous smile.

Ayame's face began to grow even more red as she realized what he had just asked. "Are you asking me out on a date?" She almost whispered, still stunned.

"If you put it that way I guess I am.." The jinchruiki responded still slightly nervous.

"Yes!" Ayame squeled as she launched herself at Naruto. She wrapped her arms around him and the two just stood there for several seconds enjoying the feeling of there bodies against each other.

"Kami Ayame.. Your skin is so softt.." Naruto whispered in her ear as he ended the hug and turned to leave, with one last smile at the girl he exited the ramen stand. Ayame stood their red as a beet.

Naruto of course didn't notice as he made his way to the Hokage tower. _Guess I could get there a couple hours early, can't wait to see the old lady. _

When Naruto neared the door to Tsunade's office he started to pick up on loud voices.

"Those Akatsuki bastards!" Tsunade bellowed as she pounded her fists on her desk. The look in her eye could easily be identified as rage, or even more, hatred. "They've gotten another one.." She almost mumbled to herself. The list was getting shorter, more demon hosts were being taken. It was only a matter of time before... The blondes features turned to a grimace as she pushed a few strands of hair away from here face.

"We must assume both Naruto and I will be targeted soon enough, additional precautions must be taken." Gaara said in his usual mono-tone. He was about to continue when the door burst open with a thud and a tall blonde man entered the room.

"Did you miss me?" He asked grinning at Tsunade and Gaara.

"Naaruto?!" The blonde woman asked in disbelief. In the blink of an eye she had leapt over her desk and smothered him in a warm embrace. Slowly his arms wrapped around her back and he closed his eyes. _I guess she missed me too. _It had been three years, she had reason to be excited to see him. He was happy and excited to see her too. She was after all one of his most precious people. Not only had she believed in him to continue the dream her brother and lover had held, but she had also been there for him when he needed something. In his eyes she almost like a mother he never had, even though she was old enough to be his grandma!

When the embrace ended he cocked his head to the right taking in the slender red haired man infront of him. _It was Gaara! Why was he here? And he looks, like he might not be crazy anymore. _

"Hello Naruto..." Gaara said with a small smile. It was rare for Gaara to show emotion at all, but it was even rarer for him to show happiness. _Naruto... You have changed me more than you could ever know. After our battle you opened my eyes. I can see how the world really is now. I learned there is a power far beyond that obtained when fighting for yourself, a force stronger than the urge to kill. It's the power obtained when one fights to protect one's friends. To protects ones family. _

Gaara gazed at the man who had changed him. One of the very few he considered to be his friend.

"Naruto it is your turn ." Gaara said passively. Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?" He replied. The sand user looked at him for a moment before continuing.

"I've become Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand, it is time for you rise as well." The air was knocked from Naruto's lungs as he registered what his friend had just told him. _Could it be true? Was Gaara really the Kazekage? He doesn't strike me as a lair... I guess it makes sense, why else would Gaara be here.. _Naruto's face changed instantly to one of determination. _If Gaara is the Kazekage, I need to catch up... I need to work even harder. _

"Great news!" Naruto said smiling as he clasped his friend on the shoulder. Sapphire eyes looked into pale blue until they were interrupted by Tsunade.

"Naruto I have a mission for you, but it can wait for a couple days. I figured you would want some time to rest and catch up with everyone. " Tsunade said fondly.

Naruto was denied a response when the door abruptly opened revealing a tall kunoichi with sandy blond hair tied into 4 separate knots. Her eyes were a dark blue gray, which matched the short decorative kimono she wore. Over the kimono was the standard Suna Jonin vest. Perhaps what was most distinctive about her was the huge battle fan strapped to her hip.

"Temari?" Naruto asked. He was still dazed from her dramatic entry. _Now that I think about it, that's the same way I came in. _Naruto grinned, they were kind of alike.

It took a moment before the Sand konoichi registered who the tall blonde man before her was. When she did she was dumbfounded. She had seen people change over time, hell her brother was a prime example. He had gone from being a heartless killer to well, the kazekage. But this was too much, the Naruto she remembered had been a short little blond kid clad in neon orange. Her eyes scanned his body taking in his lean muscle and deep sapphire eyes. After several seconds she realized she was gawking and quickly turned towards Gaara, trying to hide her blush.

"Hey Naruto," was her quick reply as she bowed to Tsunade before giving Gaara her report.

"I wasn't able to find us a hotel to stay at, seems like at this time of the year everything is booked." She said with a frown. Gaara's face become thoughtful until he asked Tsunade, "Do you know of any neighboring towns that have inns?" The reply came from Naruto instead of the Hokage.

"You guys are welcome to stay at my place, I haven't been there for quite a while so it should be clean." He said the last few words with a slight smirk on his face. _They came at the right time... Normally it's a mess. _

Both Gaara and Temari looked surprised. They weren't used to such hospitality, being the children of the kazekage they had never needed to search for housing. Temari began to smile at the thought of staying with Naruto, atleast it wouldn't be boring.

"Does that sound fine with you two?" Tsunade asked the sand siblings. She caught Temari's slight blush and tried to suppress a smirk. Somehow she knew he would be a lady killer when he got back. After all Minoto sure was one. "Oh and Naruto, I don't expect you to come by at noon, we will have to talk later." Naruto nodded.

"Alright lets head out!" Naruto said with enthusiam as he exited the office.

Gaara smiled and nodded, he was happy they didn't have to find housing elsewhere, also this would give him some time to catch up with his blonde friend. He had quite a lot of questions to ask, most to do with the obvious change in attire and attitude.

The three departed from the Hokage tower and set off towards Naruto's apartment. It was still a little before noon, and the village was bustling with activity. A group of children ran through the streets chasing each other, completely oblivious to the carts of vegetables and produce they had knocked over in the process. Several older villagers gave them nasty looks, while others simply looked and laughed. _I remember doing that when I was a kid... Only I never got a smile. _Naruto remembered the painful days, the days he spent alone. _I'm not going to ruin my day remembering this shit. I've got guests.. _Thought Naruto as he glanced over at Gaara and Temari. The sand mistress caught his eye and gave him a quick smile which he returned eagerly.

About an hour later Naruto and the sand siblings were gathered around Naruto's kitchen table. Gaara and Temari shot each other quizzical looks as the blonde dished out the steaks he had prepared on the stove. Both of them had heard of his addiction to ramen, and they had both saw the instant ramen in his cupboards. Yet for some reason he insisted he would make something instead. Naruto smiled as he sat himself.

Temari hesitantly poked her steak before finally cutting off a peice and chewing. The flavor was instant and so wonderful she almost coughed it up. She looked over at Gaara who was similarly surprised by how good the food was. Once she one piece she knew she needed to have more. In a matter of minutes the siblings had finished and cleaned their plate without a single word.

Naruto stifled a laugh as he saw the two of them. He had never seen either of them eat before, and was happy they liked his food. They_ ate those steaks like they hadn't eaten in days. _

"I'll assume you liked it?" He said with a grin. Temari sported an impressive blush whilst Gaara looked at his friend with a smile.

"Your a good cook," the sand user said. Just then there was a knock on the door, followed by another, then another.

"Got it," Naruto mumbled as he go up and walked over to the door. When he opened the door he was bombarded by a chorus of squeals as his newest fanclub from earlier tried to grab at him. Naruto shrieked in surprise and slammed the door not a moment too soon as multiple hands lashed out towards his body. Naruto's breathing was still erratic as he stood on the other side of the now locked door. He started to walk back to his kitchen when he heard multiple voices from the other side of his door.

"So this is where he lives..."

"Gosh he's so hot."

"How can we get in there?"

"Maybe at night..."

This was followed by another round of giggling and squeals as the girls started to plot a way inside. The jinchuriki sighed as he made his way back to the table. Before either of his guests asked who it was Naruto shut them up with.

"It was no one."

Suddenly feeling very tired Naruto created a few shadow clones to clean up the kitchen and do the dishes, then walked off to his room and collapsed on his bead. Not even five seconds after he was asleep and snoring loudly.

"How hard does he work himself?" Temari asked her brother with a smirk.

"He's an odd one isn't he," Gaara replied as he too got up and walked into the living room.

_Coming from Gaara?!_ Temari thought, mentally smirking. They didn't get much weirder than Gaara. Sighing Temari laid her battle fan on the table and took out a small piece of silk, she began to slowly clean each part of the fan. If it wasn't clean, then it couldn't perform at it's best.

Nearly eight hours later Naruto woke with a start. _I don't even remember going to bed? _He thought as he shook his head clear and got up from his bed. Walking into the kitchen he saw Temari asleep with her head resting on the table. Her fan on her lap, and to his amusement a small amount of drool was escaping from her half open mouth. _She looks so damn cute, should I even wake her up? _He decided on the latter.

"Temari? Temari wake up.." He frowned at her, she was quite the heavy sleeper.

Slowly he extended his hand and reach her shoulder, giving her a light shake. Instantly her eyes jolted open and her fan snapped forward, blasting air at Naruto.

"Ahhh!" The blonde boy yelled as he was flung into the opposite wall, hitting it with a solid clunk. Slowly he got to his feet and gave the girl a scowl.

"Sorry about that, I don't like it much when I'm woken up. I thought you were Kankuro haha. He's always the one who wakes me up." The Sand konoichi said sheepishly. Thankfully Naruto's got over it instantly and flashed her a smile.

"I saw you sleeping there and thought I would offer you a more suitable place to sleep." Naruto looked into the living room and saw Gaara fast asleep on the couch.

"Looks like your brother has the couch, if you want you can take my bed." He suggested as he looked back at Temari.

"Nahh I wouldn't do that to you, where would you sleep?" She asked surprised by his thoughtful gesture.

"I can sleep on the floor, trust me I've slept on worse." Naruto replied grinning. Temari wasn't having any of it.

"How about we just share the bed, I mean from the looks of it it isn't that small. Besides I'm sure your not stupid enough to try anything while I'm asleep." Temari giggled as she headed towards the bedroom.

"Just give me some time to change before you come in," She said as she closed the door.

Naruto stood there in disbelief, she wanted to sleep in the same bed as him. _I know that isn't the way she meant it but still. _Deciding there was really nothing else he could do he went to the bathroom to take a quick shower and change into his night clothes. 20 minutes later he knocked on the door of his bedroom and was answered by a quick, "Come in." Naruto opened the door and smiled. Temari was already under the covers, only her head was poking out. He went over to turn off the light then slowly made his way to his bed and slipped under the covers.

"Goodnight Temari," Naruto whispered to the quiet girl. When there was no reply for several moments Naruto silently smiled to himself. She must have had a long journey, Suna wasn't exactly the closest place in the world. The fox boy closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep. _She's so close. I can feel her leg pressed against mine. _Naruto slapped his forehead in frustration, this was going to be a long night.

"Naruto... Nar..." Temari whispered. She turned over and placed her hands on his chest and neck.

"Whattt, what are you doing Temari?" He asked frantically as the hands pulled him closer to her. When he still got no response he figured she must still be asleep. _How can she sleep through this, but not a light tap on the shoulder? _

Temari's warm breath sent shivers down his spine, her hair tickled his chest. Naruto started to breath deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. After several minutes he finally managed to calm his raging nerves. He looked at Temari's sleeping form and smiled. _But wait?! What about tomorrow when she wakes up? What will she think? Take it one step at a time Naruto, one step at a time. _

"Goodnight, Temari..."


	3. Chapter 2: The Date

**Hey Guys thanks for reading, hope you like the direction this chapter is going in. Feel free tell me anything that I can improve on or change, it helps a lot. Enjoy!**

Naruto had never gotten such a good nights sleep. He felt peaceful, warm, and really really comfortable. He found himself smiling before he even opened his eyes. _It was going to be a good day. _When the Blonde opened his eyes he stopped breathing, he was face to face with a familiar looking Suna Jonin. Temari's eyes were still closed, and her breathing was slow. _Thank god she's still asleep. I really don't want to take another blast from that fan... _Naruto's face began to heat up as he realized just how compromising there position really was.

She was literally directly on top of him, her chest pressing against his. One of her hands had found its way to his right thigh during the night, and the other was resting on his bare chest. To make matters worst they both were not exactly wearing the most modest of clothing. Naruto's "Night Clothes" consisted of boxers and a tank top, the black tank top had some how made its way off his body and was crumpled in a pile to his left.

_Thank god I still have my boxers on... _Naruto thought, trying not to picture what would happen if he was discovered in this position with out them. Visions of being impaled by Gaara's sand and being cut to ribbons by Temari's over sized fan danced through his head until he dismissed them with a shake.

To make matters worst Temari's pajamas were not much better than his. She was clad in a loose white shirt which had some how been pulled up to right below her breasts revealing her smooth tone stomach. From what Naruto could tell she wasn't wearing a braw either. The only other thing she had on was a tight pair of athletic shorts, but he couldn't see those because they were hidden underneath his thick blankets.

Naruto had to use all his will power to suppress a nosebleed. _She even smells good... I need to get away, I need to escape. _For some reason he couldn't look away from her. His eyes were drawn to her lips, there perfect shape and color. _How would they feel? _Realizing his thoughts would only go down hill from this point Naruto went through his options in his head.

I can wake her up, and hope I don't get killed by her, or her brother. Or I can try to slip away without waking her. He quickly realized the latter of the two would be the best choice and slowly shifted her weight until she was off of him, then gently pulled the blankets over her partially nude figure.

Quietly he managed to slide the lower half of his body off the bed and was about to stand when an arm wrapped itself around his waist, trying to pull him back. Temari muttered something incoherent before loosening her grip and shifting her self so her back was to him. The fox-boy let out a deep breath before getting up and splashing his face with cold water from the sink, he needed to wake up.

Temari eyes snapped open at the scent of bacon. Slowly she pushed away the blankets from her body and got to her feet. She smiled, she had gotten such good sleep. And she had quite the interesting dream, her face began to turn pink as she played it over in her mind. _Naruto..._

When she headed into the kitchen her face began to turn an even brighter shade of pink. There in front of her whistling a jolly toon was Naruto, in nothing but boxers. She had known he had a nice body when she had seen him yesterday, but this was different entirely. His back, chest, and shoulders look like they had been chiseled straight from stone. Temari's eyes followed his six pack and v line farther down she realized she had been staring at his crotch and looked away quickly. _Too early in the morning for this shit.. _When she finally built the courage to look back at him she was met with a smile.

"Good morning Temari," he said as he turned back to the stove and continued turning the bacon. The blond boy glanced at her again, a bit of color creeping to his whiskered face. Looking down at herself she realized she was basically naked and with a squeal ran back to Naruto's bedroom. When she returned she was dressed in her Blue Grey Kimono much to the disappointment of Naruto.

" Hey Temari, I liked your previous outfit much more," He said jokingly as he glanced at the Sand konoichi. Temari began to blush but was saved when Gaara entered the room.

"Would you mind telling me what my sister's previous outfit was Naruto?" He asked with a hint of malice crafted into his words. Naruto began to grow pale, you never knew what would happen with Gaara.

Rather than take a chance Naruto dashed back to his room where he dressed himself in black combat boots, shin protectors, wrist/forearm protectors, and instead of the traditional black kimono, he opted for his fathers white trench coat with red flames which had been bestowed upon him by Jiraya.

Before leaving his room he fastened his forehead protecter over his left shoulder. To the blonde boys obvious discomfort Gaara was standing in the exact position he had been when he'd asked Naruto his question. It was clear he wasn't going to move until Naruto replied. _Well my friend you will be standing there for quite a while... _He glanced over at Temari who was smiling wickedly at him, he would get her later for this. No question.

Being back in Konoha had started to take it's toll on Naruto, he had to get away from the village. And fast. Everything here screamed Sasuke, it screamed brother, it screamed gone. Trying to hide his true thoughts Naruto broke out in a grin.

"Well I'm off, I have some things I want to take care of before it get too late in the day, breakfast is made as I'm sure you can see" Naruto said as he walked towards the door. Right before he grasped the handle Temari asked, "Will you be home for dinner tonight?" He was surprised she had asked a question like that. In fact he had never been asked that before in his life. He hadn't had anyone waiting for him at home, never had a family. He sighed and opened the door.

"Sorry but I don't think so, I have a date with Ayame Nee-chan tonight!" He replied as he left and shut the door behind him. Temari tried to remain expressionless but a bit of annoyance crept it's way onto her face. Her eyebrows narrowed slightly. _Naruto has a date? I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised but still. _

Gaara stood trying to determine what his sister was feeling. Emotion had never come very easily to him. Even after his battle with Naruto he was still trying to fully understand what we call "emotion". He picked up on her slight frown and thought perhaps she was upset, about what, the news that Naruto had a date? _But why would she care about that? Does Temari have interest in Naruto? _Gaara briefly smiled.

That was alright in his book, Naruto was a good person. And he would protect her with his life. But should he ever hurt Temari, well lets just say he wouldn't hurt her. He wouldn't want to find out what would happen if he did. Gaara smirked at the thought.

The fox boy finally arrived at the training field he desired. The very same training field that team 7 underwent the bell test at. The training field that he and Sasuke had formed there first bonds at. Everything here sent painful memories splintering into his head. The all to familiar bowl shaped clearing. The rich forest that enveloped it on all sides. The memorial stone in the center of the field. And of course the three wooden posts, one of which Naruto had been tied to. He grinned as he remembered the hospitality Sasuke had shown him, offering his food. Of course the dark haired boy wore a scowl the whole time. But that hadn't mattered to Naruto.

For the first time he had been acknowledged as an important part of the team. Sasuke had needed him to be at the top of his game if they had even a shot at taking the bells. _Needed me, Sasuke had needed me. Well now he needs me, whether he will admit it or not. He needs a hand to pull him from the darkness. _

All of this suddenly sent dormant emotions flying to the surface, emotions that Naruto had long since tried to compress and bury away emerged abruptly causing him to scream.

"Sasuke!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs, flocks of birds suddenly sprang from the trees startled from the intensity and sheer volume of his voice. Naruto was angry, but something more. Sad, Naruto was sad. _Why couldn't I have brought him back? Why was I weak? Why did I make that promise... The promise I just couldn't keep. _Tears began to form in the corner of Naruto's eyes but he wiped them away without hesitation. This was no time for weakness, this was a time for strength.

Without even looking Naruto sensed a presence hidden behind him in the trees.

"You can come out," he said fairly quietly. If the person trailing him had managed to stay hidden this long they definitely had heightened senses of some kind. A tall figure landed with a small thud than began to walk towards Naruto. The fox boy recognized the Chakra instantly and turned to face him.

"Kakashi Sensei?" He asked, although he really wasn't surprised. He was bound to run into the lazy ninja at some point after his return. The copy ninja replied with a raised hand, and an unseen grin hidden behind his mask. Without the mask on Kakashi's feelings of happiness and shock would have been so obvious even Gaara could have read them. _So this is the new Naruto ehh? He looks like he's gotten a lot stronger, hell he can probably beat me. _

"Naruto, I figured I'd see you here." Kakashi said lazily as he stopped about 20 feet away. "I like to come here to clear my mind, it's a good place to relax." _Thats... Thats Minato Sensei's coat?! Where did he get that? _

"Where, where did you get that?" Kakashi asked pointing at the coat, still unsure of what the boy would say.

"It was a gift from my sensei, and well, passed down to me from my father." Naruto replied honestly to Kakashi. The copy ninja's visible eye widened for a second then went back to it's lazy state. He knew this day would come eventually, he just didn't know it would be this soon.

"Naruto believe me I wanted to tell you, buttt-" Naruto interrupted him with a swift raising of his right hand.

"Kakashi Sensei, you don't have to apologize. Your not in the wrong, I know now, and that's enough." The blonde smiled at his sensei and the tension was eased immediately between them.

The grey haired ninja was clearly relieved, but then remembered why he had come here in the first place. _Well I came here to see how he was doing, and possibly catch up. But after hearing him scream Sasuke I better address the mater at hand... _Thought Kakashi as he braced himself for the argument that would follow shortly.

"Naruto, I want you to give up on Sasuke." He said looking Naruto right in the eyes. Kakash waited for the yells of protest but was surprised when none came. He gazed at the passive face of his student for several seconds before deciding to continue.

"I know the promise you made to Sakura, and I'm aware its become quite the burden to bear whether you will admit it or not." Kakashi continued. "I think its time to give up on Sasuke. Just let him go, it will make your life so much easier. "

At this Naruto finally narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

"It's not about making my life easier, it's about bringing back a friend from the darkness. You once said those in the ninja world who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends.. are lower than scum. Isn't that right? Sensei..."

Kakashi nodded slowly.

"I don't want to be worse than scum, and I don't want to let go of Sasuke." At this his frown changed to a slight smile and he sat down of the ground in meditation.

"That's my final answer."

Kakishi frowned, he knew it wasn't going to be easy. _At least he hasn't completely changed, he's still stubborn as a brick wall. _

The conversation between the two had brought some peacefulness to Naruto's mind. It had been a long time since he had breached the subject of Sasuke. And yet he was happy with himself that he still knew why he needed to bring him back. Why he wanted to bring him back. Why he would bring him back.

Kakashi sighed and sat on the ground next to Naruto. _Since when does Naruto meditate? _Kakashi asked himself with a small frown. It seemed there was still so much he had yet to learn about the new Naruto.

The grey haired ninja still felt slightly guilty, about the way he used to treat the boy. It was obvious he favored Sasuke, he spent time training him to use the Chidori, what had he done for Naruto. _This is why I failed them both as a teacher, I allowed Sasuke to leave, and never gave Naruto the time he deserved. _

The two sat in a comfortable silence for several hours simply listening to the forest around them. It had been 3 years since they had been together, but they had never really had much to talk about.

Their quiet enjoyment of the forest was interrupted by a large could of dust racing towards them at high speeds. When they noticed the green and orange spandex training suits Kakashi sighed and rose to his feet.

"This is my cue." The copy ninja leapt away from the open field and into the forest beyond. Naruto grimaced, his Sensei had left him hanging, and with these two clowns.

"Naruto!" Lee's voice echoed around the forest as the green clad ninja came to a halt about 15 feet away. He was soon met by Guy Sensei who winked at Naruto and gave him his signature thumbs up. Mentally Naruto groaned.

"Naruto, everyone has come to see you! Sakura-chan went and told everyone of your return!" Lee said with a thumbs up of his own. "I can't wait to spar with you, and get even stronger!"

"That's was most youthful of you Lee!" Guy shouted as he looked at his student with tears in his eyes.

"Guy Sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Guy Sensei!"

"Oh Lee!"

"Springtime of youth!" The two men yelled in synch causing a visible shiver to run down Naruto's spine. These guys were too much.

"Naruto!" Naruto turned his head in time to see a huge white dog barreling towards him at high speeds. Kiba was on his back, giving Naruto a feral grin.

"Long time no see Naruto, how've you been?" Behind Kiba followed Hinata, who was dressed in a white baggy jacket. She began to blush as she saw his eyes were on her.

"Nnnaruto-kun, so gggood to seee you." She stuttered as she gave him a small bow. He smiled back. _She's a lot prettier now but she doesn't seem to have gained much confidence. Well that's who she is, nothing wrong with that. _Pretty soon all member of the konoha eleven had gathered, excluding only Shikamauru who was currently on a mission. He would have to catch up with that sloth later. After eating a large lunch Sakura prepared the bombardment of questions began.

They asked about everything from where he had been, to new Jutsu, to even his love life. Naruto had been surpised when Tenten had asked him whether he had a girlfriend or not. Of course his reply was a sad no, he had never dated anyone. Naruto's friends were truly shocked at just how much he had changed.

Even Kiba who had always had a sort of rivalry with the blonde began to notice how far the gap between them had grown. _Naruto, a sage? _Over the next several hours Naruto caught up with his comrades. Telling them exaggerated stories from his travels with Jiraya, and even recounting some of the funnier situations the pervert had worked himself into in his attempt at peeking at women. It seemed the geezer could never learn.

Naruto easily began to pick up on the strange manor in which Tenten, Sakura, and Ino acted around him. Hinata had always been a shy one, but these three never were. They constantly were glancing at each other and whispering. It reminded him somewhat of how Ino and Sakura had acted toward Sasuke in the days at the academy. To say the least it was unsettling.

When the sun began to slowly set into the sky Naruto decided it was time to make his way to Ichiraku's. He smiled at his friends before telling them he was off on a date and ran towards town. Ino and Sakura frowned as they gazed at the blonde firgure slipping farther and farther away. _Who was he going out with? _

_Kami that was strange. _Naruto thought as he walked through the streets towards his favorite restaurant. _I've sure as hell never seen Sakura and Ino act that way. Tenten is kind of a mystery to me anyways, she never really took the time to know me. _He was happy that his friends had readily accepted him back. For a while he had some fear as to whether or not he would be viewed as the same after being absent for 3 started to laugh at himself, how shallow did he think his friends were? Finally he arrived at the ramen stand.

"Ayame-chan?" He asked hesitantly as he sat down at the empty counter. Slowly he heard footsteps coming his way from the back of the shop. The blonde's eye's opened wide and his mouth hung open. He gasped. She was absolutely beautiful, stunning really.

She wore a tight white dress that hung to her curves, making her legs look even longer, and her hips more seductive. Several pieces of jewelry hung down from her neck, drawing his eyes to her medium sized, but still impressive chest. She wore no make up which only seemed to make her sexier. She had taken her hair out from it's normal pony tale, letting it fall midway down her back. _She's gorgeous... All of this for me? _Naruto thought as he tried to hold back a blush.

"So where are we going?" She asked with a smile as she gauged his reaction. Naruto mentally face palmed, he hadn't even thought about it really. What would she like to do? He smiled back at her when he thought of the perfect place to go.

"I know I promised you dinner but I figured that could wait for next time," he said grinning. Her eyes widened when she realized he had basically promised her another date after this one. He slowly reached out and grasped her hand in his.

"This place better be good," she said in mock anger, although it was clear she was just joking around. He nodded.

"Follow me."

An hour later the pair gazed out at the fading sun. The whole village was spread out in front of them. From up atop the head of the Fourth everything seemed so small. The various buildings spread across Konoha looked like small candles, as the only thing visible was the light coming from their windows. Up here, high above konoha had always been a place that had calmed Naruto, a place he had gone to during his childhood when things had turned sour.

_To think I was sitting on my father's head this whole time... _Naruto's eyes narrowed. _What would my life be like right now if you hadn't died, if you hadn't given your life for the Leaf. _He turned back to Ayame and smiled. She looked so pretty under the dim light of the moon.

"It's amazing, to think I've never been up here before." She almost whispered as she moved closer to Naruto.

"This is where I go when I'm upset, or when I need to be alone. I never thought I would bring someone else up here with me." His eyes met her own. They seemed to draw him in, her rich creamy hazel eyes.

"But tonight has been perfect." He said as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her even closer.

"You cold?" He asked in concern. The last thing he needed was for her to get sick.

"Not anymore," she let the words hang in the air before scooting herself even closer to the blond man. Her arms found there way to the back of his neck, and the two just sat there, gazing into each others eyes. He couldn't contain himself any longer, she was too much. His other arm found it's way to the small of her back before he angled his head towards hers. _Ayame..._

Without even thinking Naruto met her lips with his own, sending a shiver down his spine. The hands around his neck tightened greedily as she pulled him even closer to her. Soon the chill night air vanished and was replaced by only desire. _His first kiss, well not really. Sasuke had claimed that many years ago... _

After several long seconds the two broke apart and smiled. It had been a good night, but it was getting late.

"Want to walk me home? Naruto-kun?" Ayame asked with a blush. _He's such a good kisser... _

"Any thing for you," he replied as he sprang to his feet, still holding her in his arms. She giggled as she shifted in his strong arms. She felt like a princess.

He walked back down the mountain with her still in his arms, and even throughout the village. They spent the time chatting about Ramen, which seemed to be quite the conversation starter between the two. As much as the boy had changed some things had ultimately stayed the same. He would always love Ramen.

Naruto had eventually found Ayame's apartment, much to the displeasure of both her and Naruto. Even the lousy directions from Ayame, and the careless mistakes at navigating the village didn't buy them as much time as they had hoped for. They wanted the night to last as long as possible, and it seemed it was finally going to come to an end.

Naruto with a grin set Ayame down on her feet and looked down at the women. He remembered the feel of her soft milky skin, and her lush lips. She gazed back at him before playfully pecking him on the lips and walking to her porch.

"I think it's a little too soon for you to stay for the night," she said with a blush.

He felt his face heat up and rubbed his the back of his head sheepishly.

"Haha I know, goodnight," he replied as he turned away walking towards his place.

"Oh and Naruto, don't forget to drop by sometime soon. You promised me dinner remember..." She said to the blond. He turned back to her and said with enthusiasm, "How could I forget? I'll come by sometime soon," with that he left her standing on her doorstep, still with a smile on her face.

Another Blonde stood stunned as she watched Naruto leave Ayame's house. Temari had spent the day training, and was returning when she stumbled upon a certain blonde boy walking into town with a brown haired girl in his arms. At first she was simply confused, why was she with him. She had followed him for a bit without gaining any information, except that both he and the girl knew quite a lot about ramen. But after watching the two kiss just moments ago everything had fallen into place. _This was Naruto's date. _

Temari frowned. Why was she acting this way? Why should she care who the blonde idiot interacts with? _I'm jealous aren't I. _The realization hit Temari like a stone wall. When was the last time she had been jealous? She was stronger than this. Temari quickly made her way back to Naruto's apartment and opted to enter through the balcony, so she wouldn't alert anyone she was gone. She landed on the wood with a soft thud and entered his living room. Gaara was sprawled out on the couch, snoring quietly. She smiled at her brother, sometimes he seemed like a completely different person.

"Temari," said a husky voice from behind her. She turned to see Naruto sitting out on his porch looking intently at her. _How did he sneak up behind me like that? _She walked towards him and couldn't help but grimace as she replayed the kiss over again in her mind.

"I need to talk to you," his face softened and he broke out in a smile.

"I had my first kiss."


	4. Chapter 3: Forest Battle

**_Hey guys thought it was time for some kind of battle, don't really know how this turned out but tell me what you think._**

**_Thanks! Also sorry for it being so short, I have Lacrosse conditioning every single day of the week now, so it will tough to update as quickly as I did with the first two chapters. _**

_No. He couldn't seriously be talking to her about this. About his 'fantastic' night. How can he be so oblivious. _Temari looked at the blonde man with glazed eyes as he continued his recount of the date. She wasn't really listening though. Every once in a while she nodded her head, as if to show she was paying attention. Finally he stopped and looked at her quizzically.

"Temari?" He asked hesitantly. She looked so distant. She weakly smiled at him.

"That sounded like it was a really great night," she said trying not to stutter. "Well it's pretty late, I think I'm going in." She turned and walked shakily back inside, pausing at the door, before heading in. Naruto frowned, she was being strange. _Did I say something wrong? _The sage went to the bathroom to take a shower, then entered his bedroom. The light was already turned off, and it looked like Temari was already in bed. He quickly stripped down to his boxers and slid under the covers. The girl wasn't making a sound, but he knew she wasn't asleep.

"Temari?" He whispered at the lump beside him. His brow furrowed, there was no way she was asleep yet. He really did need to talk to her. Slowly he reached out and shook the lump. _Huh? _Naruto got up and turned on the light. Gritting his teeth he pulled back the blankets revealing a mass of pillows. _Where did she go? _He shivered as he felt a cold wind enter the bedroom. Turning to his left he noticed his bedroom window was open a tiny crack. _She must have left when I went to take a shower. _He frowned before pulling his pants, boots, shirt, and his fathers white trench coat back on, and heading outside.

He shivered as the cold night air bit at his exposed neck. Where could she have gone? _Temari, what's got you so upset. _The blonde boy quickly climbed to the top of his apartment complex and gazed out at the village beneath him. His thoughts drifted again to the Suna Konoichi. _Temari. _

_"_She probably wants to be left alone, don't worry she can watch out for herself," an indifferent voice said from behind him. Naruto whirled around to a red haired boy sitting with one leg extended, and the other pressed tightly to his chest. Naruto sighed, it seemed Gaara was always there when you least expected him.

Naruto chose to join Gaara by sitting on the roof beside him. It had been a while since the two had been alone. The last time was in battle. They sat in a comfortable silence for some time, watching as the moon made it's way farther and farther into the sky.

"You know I used to wonder the nights endlessly, in fear of what would happen if I let sleep take me. Shukaku often threatened he would make me hurt others, or simply try to take over my mind." The red haired boy continued with a grimace on his face. It was hard for him to talk about his demon, but it helped that Naruto had the same burden himself.

"It was not till recently that I communicated with my demon willingly, and had a talk. I said I was sorry that they had imprisoned him inside me, sorry they had treated him like an animal." Naruto's eyes widened. _Communicated with his demon? Apologized to a.. a monster like that? _Naruto himself hadn't talked to the fox in a long time, not since the battle with Sasuke. Not since he had been forced to use it's power, because he wasn't strong enough himself.

"Now I can sleep, for the first time in my life I can sleep. Now I'll ask you once what you did to my sister that made her so upset. I was woken when I heard the shower turn on followed by perhaps someone crying, I knew something had happened. I made my way up here for the same reason as you." The kazekage looked into Naruto's Sapphire eyes.

The fox boy cupped his face in his hands. Temari was upset with him, there was no doubt. _Maybe she was awake this morning and got the wrong idea... But that couldn't be it, if so she would have said something to me this morning. _Naruto thought.

He was still being stupid, it should have been obvious. Gaara looked at his friend, it was clear he was having a hard time understanding his sister. _I'll leave it between them. _The red head thought, _they will work it out. _

"I don't know why she's upset, but it has to do with me somehow."

Gaara watched him friend passively then shrugged, he would get it when it was time. _When will my blond friend understand?_

But the kazekage still had other questions for his friends. Alone on top of the roof was a perfect time to ask him.

"Naruto, what happened to you over your time with Jiraya? It's clear you've changed, but whats the reason?" He tried to find a way to ask Naruto with out insulting him, if it came out wrong it would sound like he thought Naruto would be a idiot forever.

The reply came without a shed of hesitation.

"I was tired of losing, tired of failing. So I trained, trained hard. Over the course of 3 years I guess I learned a lot, but I learned the most about myself." He trailed off. He wanted to tell Gaara, hell he wanted to tell the whole village. Shout it from the mountain, and let it sink in. But he couldn't, he was entrusted with a secret. It pained him that he couldn't tell his friend who his father was. It would be bad enough telling someone of your own village a S rank secret, but it was unheard to tell someone of another village, let alone the kazekage.

He trusted Gaara, but as much as he wanted to tell him some things were meant to be secret.

"I came to the realization that I was weak, and that I needed to get stronger if I wanted to go anywhere in this world, let alone bringing back Sasuke, or become hokage. But even now I don't know, don't know if I have what it takes..."

Gaara stood suddenly, "You need to have more confidence in yourself, I've heard you've grown quite strong." The blond boy's mood instantly changed and he smiled. No one from the leaf had seen Naruto in action in 3 years except for Jiraya.

"I guess I really haven't sparred anyone since I've returned..."

"Then let me be the first."

Naruto rose to his feet swiftly.

"Gaara if we are gonna do this we need to have to move away from the village, far away." He said the last words with a glint in his eye. He knew just how destructive their last battle had been, and at that time they were both only 13. Gaara nodded in agreement and the two started off towards the woods. Naruto led his fellow jinchuriki away from the village and into the undeveloped forest, several miles outside the city. They didn't want to take any chances.

Two shadows slowly trailed behind them, one was quite large, about 6'6 in height. He had spiky blue hair, and cold white eyes. His face appeared almost fishlike with gills protruding from his cheekbones. On his back was an absolutely massive sword, which was bound with white cloth. He grinned revealing sharp white teeth.

His companion was significantly shorter than him, around average height. He had raven colored hair and frighteningly dark eyes. When the pair began to get closer to there targets he suddenly closed his eyes, then opened them slowly. The Sharingan spun as it adjusted to the light, his counterpart smirked. Their robes billowed in the wind as they gained on the jinchurikis. Red clouds seeming to float in the dark night air.

Gaara and Naruto stopped moving, landing on a branch simultaneously. Gaara frowned at Naruto.

"I sense them too, I'm going to enter Sage mode," Naruto said as turned around and tried to adjust to the darkness of the forest. Barely any light filtered through the dense foliage that surrounded them, making it especially hard to sense anyone heading in their direction.

"I'll find them," Gaara said in a monotone as he sent his sand surging forward. _Sage mode?_

Naruto nodded then quickly sat on the thick tree limb and got into a meditation position. Gaara looked his way with uncertainty. _What is he doing, doesn't he know our pursuers are going to be here any minute? _The blond boy remained completely motionless, which surprised him to no end. _Is this still the same hyper kid I met 3 years ago? _

Gaara's thoughts were shattered as his sand picked up on an unknown figure about 400 feet away. _Who are you? _He grimaced then created the appropriate signs.

**"****_Daisan no Me: Third eye!"_**

A large eye ball began to form from his sand in the distance, Gaara closed his right eye and concentrated. He saw a dark figure evading his scouting sand, jumping this way and that, but somehow managing to get closer to them in the process. He tried to lash out with his sand but the figure easily dodged and scaled a tree. _Someone with this much skill? Where did they come from. _That's when he noticed the robes. His eyes widened in surprise, this soon?

_They have come, the Akatsuki. _Gaara terminated the Jutsu, it was pointless, he would see them soon enough. The kazekage continued to strike at the man with his sand, but it seemed he was too fast, or was it too agile. He was in a totally different league than Gaara had ever seen. _I guess they really are dangerous... I need to keep on my toes. _

The red haired teen glanced back at Naruto, _I hope he knows what he's doing. For both of our sakes. _Suddenly the trees erupted with black fire, spreading through the forest at an alarming rate. Gaara' s eyes narrowed,_ the Amaterasu. _Quickly Gaara built a multi layer sphere of sand around himself and his motionless friend. Someone started laughing from outside the cocoon of sand. Bam! An unknown force slammed into the outside of the shield, causing several grains of sand to break loose and fall to the ground.

A small trickle of sand fell from the top of the sphere, then it began to grow. Soon it was falling at an abnormally fast rate. Without warning a huge spiky grey sword cut through the ceiling, passing through the sand like it was nothing at all. Gaara grimaced and fell to his knees, his chakra, it was draining. _It must be that sword. It must be the one doing this. I can't let Naruto get hurt, I need to drive him away._

In a desperate attempt to force the attacker away Gaara sent his entire sphere stabbing outwards in long sharp needles (Much like his fight with Sasuke in the chunin exams). The sand penetrated the assailment with a sharp crack, suddenly the forest was still. _That can't be it... _A log, he had speared a log. _A substitution? _The forest was eerily silent, only the wind could be heard as a whistle. Where did he go? Gaara raised his right arm and commanded more sand to scout the area, in an attempt to find the attacker.

"You thought you had taken me out? Haha don't make me laugh!" A strange voice said from behind him. Gaara whirled around but it was too late. A grey blade came sailing towards his neck. Time seemed to slow down. The jinchuriki saw the glint in the shark-man's eyes. The slight smirk on his lips, _he must think I'm pathetic. _

Gaara mentally smirked, _he underestimates the kazekage_. Gaara's sand shield appeared not a millisecond to soon as Samehada hit it with a loud crack. Kisame smiled as his sword slowly bit its way into the shield, inching closer and closer to the pale man's flesh. His sword growled eagerly, it had waited quite a while for someone with tasty blood, and this boy smelled quite powerful. Gaara sank back into the depths of his mind.

_"Shukaku? I need your help." One black eye with a yellow pupil slowly opened._

_"Of course." _

Gaara smiled savagely as he felt Shukaku's chakra begin to fill him, the sand from his urn started to spread across his body, his arms taking on the shape of huge claws. His legs were also covered, and slowly a sandy tail sprouted from his back. It was just like when he had fought Naruto, only this time he could control it.

"Hahahahaha," Gaara began to giggle wildly as the sand crawled across his face, he was completely covered. He was now well over seven feet tall, with huge claws made of sand for both his legs and his arms. His tail seemed to flick back and forth, like it had a mind of it's own. What was most unsettling was his eyes, completely black except for the strange square like yellow pupil. The only feature that could distinguish him from his previous form was his tuft of red hair, and the blue markings above his left eye.

_This is my trump card, this is the first time I've attempted this in a real battle... I still can't use his power to the full extent, right now I'm only harnessing about an eighth of what I should be. It will come in time. _Kisame pulled his sword from the sand shield and slowly backed away. Gaara had just gained an incredible amount of Chakra, in a blink of an eye. Was this the power of a jinchuriki? He looked just like a miniature version of the one tails, but how powerful was he truly.

If Gaara's sense of smell and sight hadn't been altered by his transformation then he would of never been able to see the fist crash into the shark-mans jaw. He yelped in surprise and pain but was soon silenced as another Naruto appeared behind him in a flash and landed a kick in the spine making the grey man scream. He was launched into the air, blood spurting from his open mouth.

Instantly 3 more Naruto's sprang from hidden positions in the forest, white trench coats billowing behind them. They leapt from the trees, kicking him up even higher into the air before dispersing into puffs of smoke. For a moment he seemed to almost be floating as his body continued its brisk upward decent. Then a single Naruto sprang from the trees rising high above Kisame before bringing his right arm back high above his head.

**"Sage Art: Great Ball Rasengan!"**

Naruto brought his arm back smashing the ball of energy into Kisame's stomach. The grey skinned man howled before hitting the ground with a bone crunching snap. Naruto landed 10 feet away from Kisame. _I can't take any chances._ Suddenly Gaara appeared next to him, the two glanced at each other in surprise. The blonde boy tried to hold back a shudder, his form reminded him of the day they had battled, only he was even bigger. Gaara stared at Naruto in a similar manor, only focusing more on the orange tint of his eyes than anything else.

Then two were brought back to reality when Kisame rose from the ground, bent over and coughing up blood. The shark man slowly extended himself to his full height and grinned.

_"_**_Water Style: Great Exploding Water Shockwave!"_**

Kisame yelled as massive amounts of water poured from his mouth. Naruto and Gaara leapt up into the branches to avoid the huge tidal wave that barreled through the forest, knocking down trees and destroying the landscape. Naruto's tree shuddered making him grip the bark with more intensity, he could feel the roots of the tree begin to give way under the stress of the water. The area was becoming a swamp, and fast.

Gaara lunged at the Shark man, ripping at him with is massive claws. He scored a light gnash on his hip as Kisame jumped backwards slicing horizontally. He grinned as he caught Gaara's arm and managed to shear it off. It fell to the ground with a loud thud, but then Gaara was the one grinning as it grew back in a matter of seconds. _There is so much he doesn't know about this form._

Naruto quickly jumped to another tree as his began to waver and fall. He was quickly intercepted by a raven haired man. _Itachi! _Naruto stopped abruptly and stood glaring at the man who had killed his clan. The man who had left the leaf so many years ago, Sasuke's brother.

"Naruto-kun, so good to see you." Itachi said pleasantly as he smiled at the blond teen.

"Cut the shit Itachi!" Growled Naruto as he created a Rasengan in each hand. "Why are you here?" He lunged at the man only for him to turn into a dozen ravens that cawed at him and scattered. He barred his teeth in frustration. _I don't have time for this! Gaara could be in trouble. _

"Now thats not very nice," said Itachi as he reappeared behind Naruto. "I don't mean you any harm, I just need to ask you something. Can I trust that you will bring Sasuke back?"

Naruto was dumbfounded. Itachi asking about Sasuke? _There's something I don't know. _Naruto glanced over at Gaara and Kisame, the two were trading jutsu, and Kisame had the upper hand. _Sand can't hold out against water for too long... _

"Yes Itachi, I made a promise. And I keep my promises." Naruto replied looking the Uchiha in the eyes. For an instant Naruto saw a flash of emotion on the man's normally stoic face. _What was that? _Itachi sighed.

"I leave it up to you, take care of my brother. Naruto-kun." Itachi glanced at his partner's battle with Gaara before bounding away into the forest. _I must deal with Madara, now is the time. _Thought Itachi as he jumped from tree limb to tree limb. _Naruto wouldn't try and stop me, not when his friend's life is on the line. _"Good bye, Kisame." Itachi said quietly as he disappeared into the dark forest. _  
_

Naruto looked back at Gaara and yelled, "Keep up the pressure with your sand!" The red haired jinchuriki answered by sending another wall of sand crashing towards Kisame.

**_"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" _**

Several hundred Naruto's appeared, already zeroing in on their target. They all leapt at once, surrounding the shark man. He grinned lashing out wildly, every time he dispelled a clone he would gain their chakra, which in turn gave him even more strength. But it was not a winning battle, Gaara had managed to puncture him several times through the stomach, and hip, and one of the Naruto's had managed to land a rasengan on his left shoulder.

_I need to end this, now. _Naruto thought as he watched from atop a tree as his clones brawled with the Shark-Like man.

**_"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" _**Yelled Naruto as he leaned against the tree to his right for support. His vision started to blur. _Breath, Naruto breath. You have used more chakra than this before._ Slowly Naruto began to return from the cusp of unconsciousness. He watched the battle, waiting for Kisame to slip up. _Now!_ Naruto and his clones leapt form the cover of the trees towards Kisame. He craned his neck their way but it was too little too late.

**_"Sage Art: Massive Rasengan Barrage!"_**

The Naruto's yelled as they summoned the massive swirling balls of energy to both of their hands. They crashed into the shark-man simultaneously sending a shockwave blasting through the forest. The area was bathed in a white light as the multiple giant Rasengan hit their mark. Gaara hastily ran backwards a good 100 feet before clasping his claws over her ears. The explosion rocked the trees, and the sound was truly deafening, the giant oaks and other foliage were shredded instantly as the energy continued to grind away at the man. Kisame's body writhed in pain, as his healing capabilities from Samehada fought against Naruto's attack. It was hopeless, he was going to die. In a desperate final attempt Kisame threw his sword Samehada forwards, reinforcing it with the remaining chakra he had left. The grey blade disappeared into the light of the explosion. Without his sword he was nothing but a man. His scream was completely drowned out, his body tearing apart into nothingness.

Gaara forced his eyes open as the last of the attack sent harsh winds through the forest. He gasped, _Naruto... What did you just do?_ What was once a peaceful section of Konoha's great forest was now, a wasteland. Dust and debris littered the air, blocking out the sun from view entirely. Huge trees littered the grown, thick trunks smashed and broken. The ground itself had been torn up and was soaked, there was now a 60 foot crater. _So much destruction... _Gaara thought as he sprinted towards the pit. As he got closer he saw a figure slowly rise to his feet.

"Naruto?" He asked hesitantly. The figure stumbled then fell. A sword protruding from his chest, his head hitting the dirt. His eyes finally shutting and succumbing to the darkness.


	5. Chapter 5: The Blade

**Hey guys I decided to work on this a little bit, so tell me what you think. If you don't like **

**the direction its taking tell me. Also don't worry Naruto isn't going to become super **

**Op or anything all of the sudden. Also thanks for the idea, you know who you are. :)**

_Where am I? _Naruto slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to the light streaming in from the large windows that covered the walls. He smiled as he shut his eyes again and felt content under the warm white blanket that covered his body up to his neck. He really didn't want to move, and yet he hated hospitals. For all of the good they did they were still places of death, and it scared him. _What happened? All I remember is hitting Kisame with the Rasengan, and then. _He slowly pulled back the blankets, he gasped. His legs began to shake, and his fingers trembled.

What had happened?. His chest was bound tightly in a multitude of layers of cloth. He tried to raise a hand to undo the bindings but grimaced and lowered it back down slowly.

"Ahhh," he gasped fighting back tears. Pain erupted from his chest, and slowly the white cloth began to turn red. His vision became blurry and he heard loud voices coming from the hall. Tsunade sprinted into the room, followed by two nurses wearing white smocks and masks. Naruto's eyes became heavy, his arms weighed a thousand pounds. Slowly blackness took him.

When Naruto woke again it was about 7pm and had been four days since the attack, and he was finally starting to recover. When he had tried to move earlier the day before he had effectively reopened almost everything Tsunade had stitched shut. Medical Jutsu would normally be very effective for a wound like this. And yet for some reason the most they could do with it was stem the bleeding. Something about that sword had made his normally incredibly fast healing powers, well lessened.

Naruto slowly sat up in his hospital bed and frowned. He still felt a considerable amount of pain from his chest, but not nearly as bad as the previous day. He noticed a large spiky gray sword leaned against the wall in the corner of the room. _That was the shark man's sword! _But why was it in his room? His thoughts were ended when the door opened abruptly and a tall blond konoichi walked in wearing a black kimono. When she saw he was up she smiled brightly.

"Naruto!" She yelled as she placed the large bags she was carrying on the table in the corner of the room and sprinted over to Naruto's bed. She gave him a gingerly hug, knowing any more pressure would most likely hurt the wounded boy.

"Temari," he croaked as he returned the hug. Right now the other night seemed like a distant memory, like it was behind them. He flashed her a grin as she pulled away from the hug looking at him with concern. He was happy to see her, in fact really happy to see her. But yet she was not who he had expected to see.

"I'm so glad your ok, I brought you something..." She said as she grabbed the bags and brought them over to the bed side stand beside Naruto. She reached in, and pulled out a large take out style bowl.

"No, Temari you couldn't have." He said grinning wildly. He could have recognized that bowl from anywhere. _Ichiraku!_

Several minutes later the pair sat in silence, chowing down on the ramen in front of them. Although Naruto had learned manors from Jiraya, he was so hungry he abandoned them with reckless passion, slurping down the noodles like it was a contest. This amused Temari to no end as she giggled, and then smiled. She knew he had needed something like this, a cheerful wakeup call. When the last of the Ramen had been finished he sighed contently and stretched his arms behind his head.

"You have no idea how much I needed that," The blond haired boy said smiling as he looked into Temari's eyes. She returned the smile and brought the dishes to the trashcan outside, before returning to his room. Naruto looked through the window at the rising moon, _tomorrow it will be full. _

"It's getting late Temari, I'm sure you have better things to do than hang out with a cripple." Naruto said the last part jokingly, but he caught something play across the blond girls face before it returned to a smile.

"Naruto, I've been staying here at night." She motioned over to the bed directly to his left. Naruto's jaw almost dropped, _she had been staying here? In the hospital? Watching over me. Temari. _He didn't know what to say, or how to say it. For once the blond seemed to be at a loss of words.

"Iruka, Kakashi, Jiraya, and everyone else have been stopping in frequently. I guess I just got lucky I caught you when you were awake."

"But you stayed here? This whole time?" It came out fast, without much thought. But it was really the only way to say it.

At first she looked kind of nervous about the question, but then she sighed tiredly. "I wanted to make sure you were ok, plus it didn't feel right staying at your house when you weren't home. Sure didn't stop Gaara."

She slowly walked over to her bed and sat on it, her long legs hanging off the side. His eyes trailed her legs, then slowly running up her body. Her dark blue grey eyes, her full lips and bright smile. She truly was beautiful. Sure he had seen her almost completely naked, but he really hadn't taken the time to admire her form.

"Naruto?" She asked with a raised eyebrow as the fox boy. He almost jumped from his bed, causing him to yelp in pain from his wounded chest. She laughed at him as his face slowly became pink. He was saved from embarrassment when two nurses entered the room with a stretcher in hand.

"Temari-san we are going to need that bed for this patient," one said with an apologetic smile in the sand mistress's direction.

"No problem," she responded getting up and sitting in the wooden chair next to Naruto's bed. When the nurses exited the room, it became quiet. The lights went out at 8pm as they always did in the recovery wing, and two were plunged into darkness.

"Temari," Naruto whispered to the konoichi next to him.

"Yes?" She replied just as quiet, they didn't want to wake the other patient.

"You kind of don't have a bed now, I want you to know it's perfectly fine to sleep at my house, I trust you and Gaara. I know nothing bad would happen." _He trusts me. _Her smile wasn't visible in the dark.

"I don't think I'm going back to your apartment Naruto, I'm staying right here."

"In that case... this bed doesn't seem too small from the looks of it, and besides, I doubt you would be stupid enough to try something on me when I'm asleep." He whispered mockingly. It was almost exactly what she had said to him the first night she had stayed at his place.

The sand konoichi started to laugh before remembering the other patient in the room and holding a hand over her mouth. He had gotten her with that one. _That smart ass. There is no way I can get any sleep sitting in this shitty chair. _ She made up her mind and quietly clambered onto the hospital mattress beside Naruto, instantly feeling comfortable. His warmth spread to her quickly, and soon she began to feel her tiredness grip her. She rolled over so she was facing the fox boy. He wasn't asleep either, and even in the dark she could still make out his handsome blue eyes. Their faces were only inches apart, there eyes staring into each other. His hot breath on her neck sent small shivers down her neck and lower back.

What was this she was feeling? Temari had never been one for relationships, her brother was quite scary to most men. But the real reason was most likely her hard outer shell, which acted as a defense mechanism for her. If she didn't give people a chance, than she wouldn't get attached. And if she didn't get attached, then she wouldn't get hurt. Because of this she had always stayed away from or showed nor interest towards the boys who had been brave enough to talk to her. But being next to this boy, this blond haired idiot who had defeated an akatsuki member, made her feel a way she hadn't ever felt before.

She was glad it was dark, she was sure she had a sizable blush. She longed to simply reach out and grasp him in her arms. To pull him close and feel his body on hers. But she couldn't. She had seen him kiss Ayame, and she was well, nervous. Having absolutely no experience with men did not exactly give her the upper hand with these kind of things.

"Temari?" He asked quietly as he looked into the suna girl's eyes. _What is she thinking right now? _

"I'm really glad you stayed here," he whispered slowly as he reached out and hugged the girl. What he had said he meant, dearly. When all the others had gone, she had stayed. _Not even Pervy Sage? Or even Sakura?_ _Temari had stayed._ It was strange to think he had started to care for a girl, he had only really started to get to know four days ago. He felt two arms wrap themselves warmly around the back of his neck and he smiled. There was nothing romantic about it, nothing hot. To him it was a sign of compassion, of understanding. He would look out for her now, he wouldn't ever let her get hurt. _And I never break my promises. _

Her entire body was on fire, she wrapped her own arms around his neck. She could feel his breath against her collar bone. His heartbeat felt like a drum against her own chest. _He's glad I stayed here, as in didn't go back to his place tonight? Or stayed with him during his recovery? _His breathing became slower, his eyes gradually closed. He was asleep.

Temari couldn't help but stare at his face, he was so handsome when he was asleep. When he had no worries, no ramen to eat, and no one to fight. Her eyes were drawn to his lips, she shook her head. _I need to stop. _She averted her gaze from his lips and focused on his whisker marks, they made him look cute, and feral at the same time. And his hair, she loved how wild it was, how free. In a sense it was a lot like him, but he had never been free. He had been chained from the beginning, forced to host a tailed beast. A burden no one should carry.

Temari slowly closed her own eyes, she was content, utterly content. Sleep took her easily, carrying her off into a land of dreams.

Temari woke before Naruto, letting out a small yawn before opening her eyes. She almost yelped in surprise as she was only an inch away from Naruto. _Oh yeah I slept with him didn't I. Not like that I meant... _A blush began to form on the blond girl's face. His arms were wrapped around her, one on her back and the other precariously close to her butt. She felt so warm, but even more importantly safe. Temari was obviously a very strong konoichi, but something about being in a mans arms made her, melt.

"Ayame-chan..." Naruto muttered in his sleep. Temari grimaced, her again._ Is that all he thinks about? _

"I can't go with you Ayame.. Temari..." Her name caught her by surprise. He was having a dream about her? _You can't go with her? _Temari tried to figure out what the words meant, she played them over again and again in her mind. The sleeping boy then inched closer to her.

"Temari.." His lips found a way to her neck and he planted a light kiss. A familiar warmth spread from her shoulder down to her stomach. She froze in place, was he even asleep? She looked at the boys shut eyes, and heard his deep breaths. _So he's still in a dream then? _She held out her index finger and gently poked his arm. The sleeping boy giggled and twitched his shoulder slightly. _So he probably wouldn't wake up if I... _She slowly raised her head towards his, they were only an inch apart. _Am I taking advantage of him? Just like he told me not too, well that was a joke but still. _She was nervous, she was no expert at this. But soon her emotions took over.

She needed to feel him, his lips, his warm embrace. She dipped her head and took his lips with her own, very gingerly. _So this is what it feels like, a kiss. _Temari grinned, but when she tried to pull away from the kiss the two arms around her back pulled her closer, prolonging the contact. He kissed her back, her eyes widening slightly. There was no doubt he was still asleep, for his breathing had remained the same, and his eyes had yet to open. And yet Temari silently wished he was awake, that he was experiencing this moment with her. She wanted more, wanted more from the fox boy. Warmth spread across her body, but she shook it away swiftly. She struggled with herself to pull away from the kiss and just rest there, looking once more into the blonds face.

The door suddenly opened and a familiar looking pink haired medic walked in. Her eyes widened in surprise and her lips curled in a snarl for a moment before turning back to a grimace. _What am I seeing? Did Temari share the bed with Naruto? _She quietly placed the two patient's breakfast on the table, and walked over to the suna girl.

Before she could even ask Temari said, "They needed that bed for another person, and I wasn't going to sleep in a chair."

A somewhat sharp look from Sakura started to make Temari feel embarrassed, and she retreated from the comfort of Naruto's strong arms, and onto the chair next to the bed.

"Oh I see," Sakura said with a bit more venom than she had wanted. Something about seeing Temari sleeping with Naruto set off an alarm in her head. Was she feeling jealous, or even possessive? She herself didn't quite know yet. _I don't hate Temari or anything, what's gotten into me? _

"Naruto wake up," Sakura said still sounding annoyed. The blond boy shifted in his sleep slightly but showed no signs of rising.

"Ramen," Cooed Sakura quietly. The blond boy bolted upright, before wincing from the slight pain in his chest. He growled at Sakura, "Not cool." The two girls beside him laughed at his outburst, some things wouldn't change.

Once he rubbed his eyes and really woke up he grinned at Sakura, "Morning." He said smiling brightly. A small blush formed on the pink haired girl's face, not going unnoticed by Temari who silently growled. Naruto then turned to Temari. His smile to her was softer, maybe even more real.

"Good morning, Temari." He said it slowly, dragging out each syllable. Her heart fluttered slightly, he was incredibly genuine, he felt so, _real._

Naruto felt slightly bad though. It almost felt like he was cheating on Ayame. _But I'm not, and I'm going to see her soon. _He turned back to Temari, then looked away quickly. _Ayame._

"So can I get out of here or what?" He almost growled. He really didn't like being cooped up in. Sakura moved closer to him and put her hand delicately on his muscled chest. Green medical chakra began to glow in her hand, she slowly moved it to several points on his chest. After the examination was done she smiled and nodded.

"Your free to go, just take it easy for the next week. Take a vacation or something, this particular wound will take a lot longer than usual for you to recover from." She reached out and grasped his arms, pulling him slowly to his feet. She didn't want to open up his injury. Temari took it from there and helped to hold him up as they made their way through the hospital and out the front door. The fresh air made Naruto sigh with relief. He hated the way hospitals smelled.

Sakura watched as the two exited the room, she frowned. _This isn't the way it's supposed to go! He must still like me somewhat, but maybe after all of those rejections... _She grimaced, _I treated him horribly didn't I. _When she took several steps towards the door something caught her eye. The glanced over at a large grey spiky sword resting ahainst the wall. Her eye brows narrowed, what was that. _Well it was in Naruto's room it must be his. _She walked over to it and picked it up by the handle. She gritted her teeth, it was heavy. Using some chakra to enhance her strength she managed to pick it up and walk towards the door.

"Ahhh!" Sakura yelled as she dropped the sword quickly, letting it his the white floor with a loud thud. She glanced at her hands, they were covered in blood, deep puncture wounds dotted her palms. _The sword must have done this... _She quickly healed her hands, not with as much success as she hoped, and wrapped the hilt of the sword in multiples layers of cloth. She hesitantly grasped the hilt and lugged it through the hospital, towards the front doors.

"Naruto!" She called out. He turned, eyes widening at the sword. _Why did she have that with her? Her hands? _His eyes glanced at the girls bloody hands.

"You left this thing in your room," she said making a nasty look at the sword. It was clear she held a grudge. Naruto gazed at the sword, when he had fought Kisame he had felt an evil presence, but now he wasn't so sure. She held out the blade, and he grasped the hilt slowly. He thanked Sakura and him and Temari walked home, Naruto with a massive grey sword in hand.

The two returned to Naruto's apartment around 10am. They were surprised when Gaara wasn't there, but he had left a note.

_Please excuse my absence, I'm needed at a meeting with the Hokage, then have other business to attend to. Most likely will not be home tonight. _

_~Gaara. _

Quickly upon returning home Temari left again to get Ichiraku for the two of them, leaving Naruto alone sitting at the kitchen table. In front of him was Samehada. He didn't know what to make of the sword. Every so often it growled, or was it purred at him. It never made any attempt to lash out and attack as he expected. His hand reached forward cautiously and gripped the thick cloth around the handle. He pulled the cloth away revealing the strange golden spiral material that made up the handle. He grasped the sword in his left hand, waiting for some kind of negative response from the sword. Some indication that it still belong to Kisame, that it was his word. But nothing came, nothing but a low hum from the sword. A hum of satisfaction.

He felt strong a strong blue chakra flowing into him from the blade. Then a message, **_blood_**_. _His eyes opened wide at the sword in front of him. _Blood? What about blood? _

**_Blood. _**It repeated it again, slower this time, as if to get a point across. Naruto walked to his bed room a retrieved a kunai and walked back. _It wants blood?_ Taking a deep breath the blond boy cut his wrist lightly, letting the blood flow on the blade. He was surprised when it disappeared, almost like the blade was absorbing it. The sword started to hum louder, rocking the table and chairs. Naruto sat down, shaking. The sword was taking his chakra, and his blood. His vision turned red, his mind was getting cloudy. He other hand shaking violently. Just when Naruto thought he couldn't take any more the voice said **_Enough._**

He instantly took the white cloth and wrapped it tightly around his wrist, stopping the flow of blood. He sighed in relief, for a second he had thought he would die. _Why am I even doing this? _He glanced back at the sword, it was still humming. **_You've left your imprint on me, just like Kisame did, and the one before him. I hope this doesn't hurt too much, I've put you through enough. _**He didn't even have a second to process what the sword had said when intense pain filled every cell in Naruto's body, it was like being impaled again, except 10 times worse. He tried to scream but couldn't open his mouth, he was biting down so hard. His head hit the table before his eyes even shut.

When the blond woke up he was surprised by how clear his vision was. Looking at the table was like looking under a microscope, it was in incredible detail. When his head rose from the table he gasped in disbelief. His eyes widening as he took in the beauty in front of him. The sword known as Samehada was gone, a new sword had been born.


	6. Chapter 6: A Rank Mission

**Hey guys wanted to thank you for the support you've given me via follows, favorites, and reviews. It means so**

**much to get input on my writing. Thanks and hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Never going to own Naruto but I can still write:)**

Naruto slowly picked up the sword in his right hand, admiring the beauty of the long silver blade. The pommel of the sword was a shiny silver spike, that jutted out around 3 inches below the grip, making the bottom of the sword look rugged and fearsome at the same time. The actual grip of the sword was a dark leathery material that was bound in a similar way to it's previous form, it felt cool and smooth to the touch. The sword had no guard so the grip led directly into the blade. The sharp silver metal started out very narrow, but slowly got wider as it extended towards the end of the sword, ending at a length of around 4 feet. The blade even at its widest was not very wide, only around 3 and a half inches, making it look incredibly thin and graceful. The silver metal was engraved with orange writing running down the sides. **_Gin Tora (Silver Tiger). _**

The blond boy gasped as he slowly swung the sword, it felt so light in his hands. The black leather of the grip almost felt like an extension of his arm, it was strange. _I've never even held a sword before... _Thought Naruto as he experimentally swung the sword, testing it's speed and weight. The longer he held it, the more comfortable he became with the weight and length of the blade. Pretty soon the boy felt the presence of a strong blue chakra seep into him from the blade. When Naruto heard the door open he quickly wrapped the sword in cloth and set it under his bed. Although he knew it was Temari from her chakra signature, something told him he should keep the sword a secret. At least until he figured out the mysteries behind it, or knew what to tell people.

The blond suna girl entered with a frown bringing in several paper bags filled with ramen. It was clear something was troubling her as she had failed to even recognize Naruto standing there. He gazed at her with concern filled eyes.

"Temari what's wrong?" He walked towards the girl.

"I'm leaving... Tomorrow." Temari said looking at Naruto in sadness. Being here, in the leaf village had made her felt, happy. Maybe it was that she had more freedom here, than in suna. Or maybe it was that she was almost on a kind of vacation, or maybe it was Naruto. _Naruto... _she looked at the boy, no, the **man** in front of her. _Why do I feel like leaving this place is the wrong decision. _Sure Temari missed suna, she missed the endless desert, the cold night air, and the people of her village. And yet she felt a bond to this village as well, a connection born over the course of a little more than half a week. It was him. She felt it towards him. _How can I go back? _She scolded herself mentally. She was a konoichi of the Hidden sand village. She had an obligation to the people of her village, the people she was supposed to protect. _I'm being selfish. Just enjoying myself here when my village needs me, needs Gaara. We need to go back. _

Naruto's mouth opened in shock, _she's leaving, this soon? _The days had gone by so fast since he had returned from his journey. It made sense to him, _how long could the kazekage really be gone? Still though, it seems too soon... Lets enjoy the time we have left. _Naruto reached out and grasped Temari's hand in his own. She looked up with a slight blush staining her face.

"Come on." The blond boy took her hand and slowly guided her out the door, bringing the food with him. He made sure to be careful and not strain his chest and shoulders too much on the way up. The pair scaled the top of Naruto's roof and sat cross-legged, watching the village. It was nothing like what is it was at night. The streets were alive with people, children playing games, merchants selling assorted goods, shinobi going about their daily business. Naruto watched in fascination as Temari looked at the village with glazed over eyes. _She must be feeling homesick. _

"Is this anything like suna?" Naruto asked as he gazed out at the hidden leaf, smiling. He wanted to learn more about her village, he wanted to go there.

"Somewhat, although my village is a lot less colorful. No trees, no rivers, not much grass except for the occasional dead strand that pokes through the sand. My village is really just out in the middle of no where." She said with a smile. Naruto started to laugh, he had never been there, and was having a hard time imagining a whole village in the desert. The two blonds sat in an uncomfortable silence for some time, eating their ramen and watching the village. It was clear they both had a lot on their minds, but neither was willing to come forth with any information.

"Temari, I want you to know that when you visit you always have a play to stay."

She glanced over at him and smiled.

"Thanks Naruto."

The ice had been broken between the two, Naruto grinned. He had an idea.

"Want to play a question game?" _Perfect chance to learn more about Her. _

She glanced at him, one eye brow raised.

"Sure." The two blonds shifted so they faced each other, Naruto with his hands behind his head.

"Ever had a boy friend?" He asked with a grin. She started to tap her foot, a bit of color came to her face.

"Nope, have you ever had a girlfriend?" She asked him back.

He too shook his head. _Not if you count Ayame, but I still haven't formally asked her out yet. _

"I still haven't asked out Ayame, but I think she'll say yes." Temari gave him a week smile, _she would say yes. She's not an idiot. He's amazing, if only I had been the one on that date. _His smile faltered as he saw the slight change in her face, _Ayame was a sore subject for her. _He thought as he pondered his next question.

"First kiss?" He asked in a attempt to learn something more about the girl. She was about to laugh and say, "You dummy!" but then swiftly remembered he didn't share that memory with her. _Pathetic, I had to steal my first kiss from a sleeping cripple. _

"Haven't had one," she replied trying to look as innocent as she could. Naruto fought to hold back a violent round of laughing. She was quite possibly the worst liar he had ever seen, ever. Her eyes brows were far too close together, as if she was in deep concentration. Her nose was slightly scrunched up, and worst of all her lips were set in pouty face position. She looked almost like a sad puppy, and he had to admit she pulled it off pretty well. But that wasn't the kind of face you made when you were telling the truth.

"Come on, who was it?"

"No one." The two remained silent, looking into each other's eyes. _This was a dead end. _

"How about you?"

"Sasuke," He said trying to hold back a grin. Her eyes widened for a moment before she broke out in laughter, quickly followed by Naruto. And so he began to tell her of the first day with his team, particularly all of the verbal confrontations between him and Sasuke. She sighed happily as she listened to the blond boy recount his stories with moving hands and a warm smile. She would miss him. After several hours of trading stories and giggles there time was interrupted when several Anbu showed up and took Naruto to the hokage's tower, much to the displeasure of Temari and Naruto. The blond boy smirked as the Anbu led the way, one on each side of him and another behind. It was as if he was five again and he was being led to the hokage's because of a prank.

The smirk quickly left his face, _am I in trouble? _The escorts opened the door with out knocking and led Naruto in, quickly shutting the door. Naruto became even more confused when 2 of the Anbu set up seals on the door and windows, which he quickly recognized as seals designed to drown out sound. He gulped as the chair behind the desk spun around and a ticked off looking Blond smiled evilly at him.

"I haven't been able to scald you, since you've been incapacitated in the hospital for some time now. But since you seem well enough to have a date with Temari up on the roof, I guess your well enough for a lecture." The boy was about to respond to her jab when she quickly rose from her desk, a menacing look crossing her pretty face.

The blonde boy instinctively held his hands in front of his face, preparing for the hardest punch he would most likely receive in his life. When no blow came for several seconds Naruto opened his eyes hesitantly. Tsunade walked over to him slowly, then wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug.

"Don't scare us like that again. You baka. Do you know how close you were to dying? If it hadn't been for the Kyuubi you would have died from the loss of blood alone, not to mention the severe damage to your organs." She said in a rough voice, still clutching onto the boy like her life depended on it. The boy flinched at the mention of the fox, but she clearly wanted to get her point across.

"Now sit down and I want you to tell me everything that happened in that battle, I mean everything." She ended the embrace and sat back down in her chair, watching intently as the boy did the same.

"Didn't you already hear from Gaara?" He asked her, still confused why she wanted his side of the story. The sand and leaf were in an alliance, and besides, it wouldn't benefit Gaara to withhold information.

"That's precisely why I want to hear your side of the story. Gaara told us while he was engaged with Kisame you were intercepted by Itachi." She let the words hang in the air, clearly wanting a response. _Itachi, Itachi Uchiha. That traitorous bastard._

And so for the second time that day, Naruto found himself retelling a conversation he had with an Uchiha. Tsunade was surprised at the detail Naruto retold the story in. _His perceptive skills have definitely increased. I think he may actually be ready. _

After he was done the blond women sighed. There were so many unanswered questions, they would just have to wait. Why would Itachi leave Kisame to die? Why would he ask about his brother? And what about him suddenly taking off? Where was he going? _I think it's time though. _A quick knock on the door broke her from her thought. He had come just in time.

"Jiraya come in!" Tsunade said. The door opened and a tall man with spiky white entered and sat in the adjacent seat next to Naruto.

"Long time no see Naruto, how's my favorite student holding up?" The tall man asked with a smirk.

"More like your only student," muttered Naruto as he smirked back at the old man.

Tsunade cleared her throat and both men's attention instantly snapped back to her, they did **not** want to get hit.

"Naruto as you know we have not been able to formally assess your skills since you've returned to the village." The blond boy nodded, clearly confused.

"From both your recount of the battle with the Akatsuki and Gaara's it's clear your level of skill has increased, exponentially since you left 3 years ago." He nodded again.

"From what Jiraya has told me your skills are almost if not at par with his own. Meaning your actually considered an S rank ninja in your own right." Naruto's eyes opened wide. _I'm considered an S rank ninja? I know I've grown a lot since I've left but S rank?_

"I've decided as hokage to overlook a certain rule regarding test taking, and well, promote you straight to Jonin. Congratulations." Naruto's heart stopped for a moment. The seconds ticked by, he remained motionless. _Joonnniiinn. I can't be a Jonin, this must be a joke._

"This better not be some kind of sick joke." He said with a frown, his heart beating incredibly fast. Tsunade waved him off with her hand, and then handed him a mission folder.

Naruto gasped as he looked at the front of the packet. A big letter **A** printed in bold black ink. _An A rank mission?! An A rank mission. It's not a joke afterall, this is real shit._

"Thank you so much Baa-Chan!" He shouted as he flashed her a big smile.

"I won't let you down!"

"Good then get ready because your departing tomorrow." Naruto smiled and started to leave stopping at the door before turning back.

"I'll make you proud." Without another word the blond opened the door and leapt from roof to roof in the direction of his apartment. Every few seconds Tsunade and Jiraya swore they heard him yell "Jonin!"

The former team mates looked at each other smiling.

"Seems like they grow up fast, I still remembering him being a little annoying brat." Tsunade said, glancing at Jiraya. The toad sage nodded his head. _That boy sure has grown up. _

"Tsunade over our journeys I may have let some information slip to him."

"What information?" She asked, a bit of anger creeping into her voice.

"About his father, it was time for him to know."

Tsunade's anger drained, and slowly she nodded her head. She knew that it was a secret Naruto would keep well, and it was something he had to know. _Maybe I should make it official and reinstate him as the leader of the Namikaze clan... But what would the village officials think, what would the villagers think? _

"I know what you are thinking and it's too soon. They aren't ready to know yet." Jiraya said, seeming to know her thoughts. Tsunade smiled at the man, her teammate, and her friend. Out of everyone, he knew her best.

"Well I'm heading out, I've got some **research** to do." He giggled slightly causing the blonde woman to growl. _But he would never change. _

"When he returns I want you to give him the rest of his parents things, give him their legacy." She said as the tall man exited. He waved at her in farewell, silently acknowledging her command.

The hokage grimaced as she pulled the large stack of paperwork from the ground, heaving it onto the desk. The wood groaned under the sheer weight of the paper.

Tsunade sighed, _are you sure you want to become hokage Naruto? _

Naruto sneezed as he jumped onto the balcony and ran into his house. Temari spun around drawing a Kunai but eased up when she saw the tell tale golden blond hair.

"Naruto don't sneak up on me like that," she said with a frown as she slid the kunai back into the folds of her kimono. The blonde man's response was leaping over to Temari and almost crushing her in a monstrous hug. Temari blushed slightly as she felt his strong arms press her chest against his own. The contact was short lived.

"I just got promoted to Jonin!" He said withdrawing from Temari much to her displeasure. She smiled back at him, clearly happy for the boy.

"That's great!" Then she smirked. "Finally catching up to me."

He raised his chin defiantly causing them both to laugh. _He deserves this promotion. _

"Do you mind if I invite a few people over? Kinda like a party?" He asked the suna girl. He understood she might want a quiet night, considering she had to get up early that morning. Well he did too, but for now that didn't matter. He was going to celebrate no matter what.

Temari was surprised he was asking her permission to invite people over, it was his house after all. _He's so considerate. _She blushed slightly, and flashed him a quick smile.

"Of course."

Several hours later around 9pm the final guest arrived at Naruto's place. When Naruto heard a knock on the door he quickly opened it to a yawning Shikamaru. The boy had changed somewhat, being taller(around average height), and opting to wear the standard chunin vest over his mesh shirt. His hair was also longer but was still tied back behind his head.

"Naruto long time no see." He said giving the blond a lazy smile.

"Come on in Shikamaru," Naruto said with a smile of his own.

They entered Naruto's place to find the party still very alive, much to Shikamaru's surprise. How everyone was able to enjoy themselves in such a small apartment, he did not know. Ino, Sakura, Tenten, and Hinata were talking amongst themselves sitting on the couch in living room. Naruto had somehow managed to find several chairs and had placed them in the living room opposite the couch, they were occupied by Lee and Neji who seemed to be in a vivid argument about Taijustu. In the kitchen stood Temari, and surprisingly Choji, who seemed to be talking about types of food. _Not surprised Choji. _Thought Shikamaru with a small smirk as he made his way past Naruto and into the kitchen.

The lazy Ninja opted to sit sat the kitchen table, and simply close his eyes and smile. Naruto glanced at Shikamaru, them catching up would have to wait for now. _Seems like he's tired. Well I guess he's always been like that. _

Naruto sighed and made his way to his bedroom. He needed to change into something more comfortable. He slipped off his shirt and pants and started to search for something to wear. He growled in frustration when all he could find in his dresser was one of his old jumpsuits. _Maybe I put my stuff under my bed. _As Naruto began to crouch down he heard a squeal from his right.

"Narutoo, Naruto-kun..." Turning his head he saw Hinata simply staring at him, her face growing more red. The girl started to play with her thumbs, but didn't look away. She was obviously embarrassed.

Looking down at himself Naruto realized he was basically naked except for a pair of briefs, which weren't very modest. The boy quickly apologized to Hinata before rising to shut the door. _Why didn't I shut it in the first place? I guess I'm not used to having people over. _Just as Naruto's hand gripped the door knob another konoichi strode into view.

"Hinata what's wrong?" The pink haired girl asked, it wasn't often Hinata made any noise at all. Sakura followed the pale's girls eyes until she too just stopped and stared. He was simply, incredible. A visible droplet of saliva slowly began to form from the side of Sakura's mouth as she took in his chest, abs, and "Goods".

"This is too much!" Shouted Naruto frantically as he slammed the door hard, resulting in a loud crack. Both girls outside realized what they had been doing and began to blush furiously, Hinata especially. Naruto was no different. He growled in frustration as he looked under his bead, _none of this would have happened if I had taken my god damn time organizing my shit! _

Finally he found a pair of sweat pants and a black beater folded neatly under his bed and he quickly pulled them on. His hand brushed briefly over the long silver sword wrapped in cloth also under his bed. **_Gin Tora_****. **It had been only that morning when he had first communicated with the sword, and yet he felt bad. He needed to learn how to wield it. _It shouldn't just stay cooped up under my bed. _

Realizing he had been sitting in his bedroom simply staring at the hidden sword for several minutes, Naruto quickly rose to his feet and exited his room. As he passed through the living room on his way to the kitchen he noticed the group of girls had entered an ever more heated discussion than the one before. Hinata and Sakura motioning with their hands, their voices hushed but loud at the same time.

"This big." He heard Sakura say she as she held her finger tips around a foot apart. The group of girls gasped, and started talking in hushed voices. Naruto almost pissed himself as he quietly sprinted into the kitchen. _I don't even want to know what they are talking about... And we haven't even opened the sake yet..._

He was brought back to reality as Temari grinned at him and laughed softly.

"Everything alright?" She asked.

He slowly shook his head and gave her a smile in return. She always seemed to lighten his mood.

"The sloth and Choji went to the roof, said something about watching the stars."

_The sloth. _He nodded, they had a habit of watching the clouds, so why should it be any different at night. He suddenly found himself alone in the kitchen with Temari. He blushed slightly as his eyes scanned her face. She looked so beautiful.

"So whats the mission?" Temari asked, breaking the blond boy from his thoughts. He smiled and shrugged.

"Haven't read it yet..." He replied stupidly. She sighed, sliding the folder from the table into her hands, then quickly handing it to him. He thanked her and pulled back the first page, beginning to read. His eyes widened slightly, then a big smile came to his face.

"Guess what my first mission as a jonin is." He said as he shut the folder and set it gently on the counter. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm going with you guys to Suna, or rather I'm escorting you. An A rank escort mission, who would have guessed."

"That's awesome!" The blonde girl beamed at him, _seems I'll see him a little longer after all. _

"Time to break out the sake, it looks like I have even more to celebrate than I thought." He said as he walked to his fridge and pulled out a large case. The suns girl's eyes followed him as he opened the fridge, _even more to celebrate?_

"Sake!" The fox boy called and everyone except for Lee entered the room. The bowl haired boy sat frowning in his chair. He would never drink again, unless his life depended on it. _The drunken fist is not to be used lightly. _Gai's voice rang in Lee's ears giving him renewed faith. 4 hours later the party began to die down.

Sakura, Ino, and Tenten thanked Naruto for the great night, looking at him with a mixture of lust and gratitude before heading out the door. They had been the last ones to stay, and had defiantly been the loudest. Sakura and Ino especially could not hold their liquor, and had been harassing Naruto all night. Asking him about his date, his love life, and even about his body. The last question had sent the blonde into a coughing fit, which had only made the girls giggle more. By the end of the night Naruto was happy they had left when they did, he didn't know how much more he could take.

Now it was only him and Temari, sitting on his roof for the second time that day, simply admiring the stars. Both had had a fair amount to drink, but neither had overdone it like many of the others. Naruto could see why Shikamaru liked looking at the sky so much. It was peaceful, beautiful, and almost surreal. _To think how insignificant we are in comparison to the sky. _He smiled as Temari slowly lowered her head against his shoulder, and leaned on him. It was these moments in his life he liked the most, he cherished the most. He realized quickly he hadn't had many of them.

_And to think most of those moments have been shared with you, Temari. _Maybe it was the alcohol running through his blood, maybe it was his need for companionship, but he wrapped his arm around her shoulder pulling her closer.

"I'm glad I'm going with you tomorrow." He said quietly not wanting to ruin the peaceful moment.

"I'm glad your coming with us, Naruto-kun." Temari responded, looking into the blondes beautiful sapphire eyes. In them she saw a great many things. She saw happiness, passion, curiosity, and love.


	7. Chapter 7: Goodbye

Naruto woke opening his eyes to a pounding head ache. _Guess I drank a little more than I thought..._ As his eyes adjusted to the light he quickly realized he was in his bedroom._ I have a mission today, judging from outside I still have a few hours._ The blond boy slowly rose from the covers when he felt someone shift next to him. He glanced over at body beside him. Sandy blond hair peaked out from under the blankets. Every few seconds she seemed to murmur something, although he couldn't quite make out what it was. _What had happened last night anyways? All I remember if being on the roof, but after that..._ Naruto hated this feeling, the feeling of uncertainty. And surprisingly enough it seemed to dawn on him much more frequently since his return.

Naruto quietly wrestled his black kimono and shin/forearm protectors from under his bed and went to the bathroom to take a shower and change. He wanted to get prepared for the day early. I can't screw this up, it's my first mission as a Jonin. The blonde boy thought as he fastened his shin protectors to his legs and walked back to his bedroom. There was something else he wanted to bring for the mission. I need to learn how to use this.

When Naruto entered his bedroom Temari was up and was dressed as well.

"Morning."

"Morning."

The two smiled at each other before Naruto bent down to retrieve his final item. Carefully his hands clasped the thick cloth, and slowly he pulled the long sword from its concealed location. Temari made a face at him.

"What's that?" She asked as she stepped closer to the item in the boy's arms. It was long, far to long to be any kind of short sword, and even lengthy for a broadsword. Slowly Naruto pulled away the wrappings on the sword until finally a gasp came from Temari.

"Where did you get that?" She asked in astonishment. Why would Naruto just have this beautiful sword under his bed? Does he even use swords?

"I'll explain later, but I think right now we should meet up with Gaara and the rest of the squad. I don't want to know what your brother would do if we delayed his schedule, and this is kind of a big deal for me." He responded as he fastened the sword to his back using the cloth, it was extremely crude but it would have to do for now. At least until he learned how to properly bind it from a weapons-user, or had a sheath constructed.

Temari responded with a grunt, he would have to tell her later. The two ate a meager breakfast before checking their packs and making their way to the door. Before leaving, Naruto inspected himself in the mirror. The sword was definitely a new accessory for him, and yet it didn't feel wrong or awkward. After nodding to Temari the two blondes set off towards the gate's of Konoha.

The group had left around mid morning and had traveled until dusk. They had made good time, but were forced to stop and take shelter early because of a storm. Naruto stood against the rocky wall of the cave, watching as the members of his squad performed various tasks. Naruto was by far the newest Jonin on the team, but it didn't intimidate him one bit. He knew everyone on the team well, and trusted them with his life. Neji was chosen to lead the escort mission, because of his superior tactical skills and prowess. Next was Shino who was also recently promoted to Jonin, several months before Naruto arrived. It had made sense for him to be promoted, as he had mastered all of his clan's techniques, and was very good at reconnaissance. Next was Tenten, who to Naruto's surprise was also a Jonin. How her promotion didn't surface when the two had caught up, he did not know. Tenten's skill using weapons was almost un rivaled in the leaf village. Her long range fighting techniques worked well with the rest of the squad considering Naruto and Neji were both close range specialists.

Normally the Kazekage would be escorted by a large battalion of troops from suna, but Gaara had not wanted to draw attention to himself and Temari on the way to Konoha. Now that the akatsuki had already found them it only made sense they have some additional protection.

Once the fire was built, and Shino had sent out his bugs to scout, things started to settle down in the shallow outcropping of rock Naruto had called a "Cave". The rain came down in sheets, turning the once firm ground of the forest into muck. Naruto watched as several small bushes got uprooted and slowly drifted down with the current of water running through the forest. This definitely classifies as a flash flood. The fox boy thought as he added another log to the fire. Neji had been smart enough to to gather brush and kindling before the worst of the storm hit, but it was running out fast and it was only just getting dark.

"I'll take first watch," the pale Hyuga said as he got to his feet and jumped to a nearby tree, taking shelter under its thick leaves and branches. His Byakugan was already active. Tenten quietly took out a bedroll from her knapsack and rolled it out, lying gently on it. Shino didn't seem to move at all, and looked as if he was still communicating with his bugs. Gaara was surprisingly already asleep, resting against the cave wall on a cushion of sand. Once again Naruto and Temari were left alone, well somewhat.

Temari's shadow danced against the cave wall, making her four spiky ponytails look even more wild. Naruto couldn't help but notice how the fire made her curves even more pronounced and exaggerated. He felt his face start to heat up and quickly looked away from the Suna girl. He was confused, he didn't know what to do. _Ayame..._ Why did his thoughts always seem to travel back to the girl? Did he feel bad, guilty even? _Am I not supposed to feel this way for Temari?_ He glanced back at her, Temari.

"Well what is it?" She asked him with an eyebrow raised. He had been acting weird around her for the past ten minutes, glancing at her now and then. The blonde boy masked his thoughts behind a wild grin, showing white teeth and rather long canines.

"Nothing at all," he responded as he took out his own bed roll and lied down, instantly feeling tired. His cloth wrapped sword on the cave floor beside him. It had been a long day. She sighed and stretched her arms in front of her. I_'ll find out soon, I'm sure of it._ His back now to her, he returned to his thoughts. _What should I do._

Rather than have the others take shifts, Shino came up with the idea of letting his insects work overnight. He could communicate with them even in his sleep, so he could still rest up along with everyone. Neji agreed to this as he himself was very tired, and he knew full well the capabilities of Shino's beetles. All members of the squad were asleep by midnight. The only sound being the relentless rainfall that seemed to show no signs of weakening, and the crackles and pops of the fire. As it got later the air began to cool, and strong winds belted around the forest. The rain continued to fall but soon a portion of what fell was small white flakes.

Naruto woke when the fire was blown out by a strong gust of wind. He shivered as the frigid air bit at his exposed neck and face. It must have been 2 in the morning. _It's still raining... Damn it's cold._ He propped himself up on his elbows and reached into his bag, pulling out a light wool blanket he kept for times like this. If he had learned one thing while traveling with Jiraya, it was to be prepared. They had often camped out in conditions much like these or worse, as they had traveled to some of the rainier parts of the land. Just as he was pulling the blanket over himself he heard a shiver to his left.

Temari had pulled her legs to her chest in an attempt to warm herself, but it wasn't working. Tenten had come prepared, bearing a large wool blanket. Gaara had created some kind of sand structure around himself. Neji had pulled on an extra robe over his own. And Shino, well he didn't seem to be effected by the weather in the least. Those bugs must help regulate his temperature. He looked back at the shivering girl and sighed. This wouldn't do.

"Temari," Naruto whispered as he scooted towards her. She cocked her head to the side. She was awake.

"Yessss?" She asked, trying to keep her teeth from chattering. She was surprised when an arm extended towards her holding a blanket. She looked into Naruto's sapphire eyes. His breath clearly visible because of the drop in temperature. He was giving her his blanket? _Considerate. That's the word._ Temari couldn't help it when a bit of color crept to he cheeks. Why did he make her feel this way. It was just a simple gesture, to offer someone a blanket. And yet it made her feel like he was offering her more than that. She took it with a smile on her face, her small hands grasping the fuzzy material. There fingers met for an instant, sending electricity running through her arms.

"Thanks." She quickly wrapped herself in the wool and sat up, back against the wall.

"I was going to restart the fire but it looks like we have nothing to work with." He whispered motioning towards the storm outside. They were lucky they had found the cave, very lucky. He crawled over to her and sat beside her, hugging his knees to his chest. They sat for some time there, both not ready to go back to sleep, content watching the rain fall. She tried to bite back a smirk when he began to shiver, why do men always think they have to act manly? She draped part of the blanket over him and pulled him closer. the blonde boys shaking stopped after a few minutes and grinned.

Gaara slowly opened his eyes, careful not to alert the pair. They had woken him up several minutes earlier, he was a light sleeper. A small smile made it's way to his face, _Naruto. I see your watching out for my sister._ His eyes shut and he dozed off into sleep once more. The two blondes sat there, watching the downpour from the safety of the cave, simply enjoying the warmth of each others bodies.

The group left at dawn. They were surprised to find the rain had mostly stopped, and the forest was almost entirely covered in a thin sheet of ice. It was even colder than it had been that night, but it didn't effect the ninjas as much as they were moving at a fast pace. The trees in the forest were almost a blur and the hours went by swiftly, soon enough they had reached the out skirts of the forest, and the beginning of the dunes.

Gaara stopped at the edge of the desert, holding up his hand to alert the others. He turned to them, his teal eyes flashing.

"I can take us from here." With that a large platform of sand rose from under the ground, lifting them just several feet from the dirt. Gaara smirked, they would make better time. With a simple motion of his hand the platform took off. The sand traveled at insane speeds, making everyone except Gaara and Temari kneel, frantically try to fight the wind resistance. They weren't accustomed to this kind of travel.

"Why didn't we do this on the way here?" Naruto said a bit of annoyance entering his voice. The red head answered calmly.

"The trees and other growth would intercept our vessel, and it would take too much chakra for me to maintain this above the tree line." The curious blonde nodded at is response. It made sense to him Gaara had found a faster way to travel faster than on foot, he did have a lot to work with. They arrived close to 7pm, only stopping once for a quick meal, before continuing on.

Naruto gasped as the looming walls of The hidden Sand village came into view, it was very different from his village. The stone was dark, almost brown in color, and was designed so ninjas and other personal could navigate with ease. A narrow corridor seemed to be the only entrance into the village, guarded on both sides. From the outside Suna looked very militaristic, but the interior of the village was just the opposite. As the group entered the village Naruto couldn't help but notice how pretty the place was. Sure it didn't have the large green trees and flowing rivers of Konoha, but it's houses were less, uniform. The blonde hadn't seen a single house that had the same design, although they all had a very similar color.

Just like Konoha the village was bustling with activity. Children ran through out the streets, villagers bought produce at Bazaars, and ninja walked the village, occasionally taking a second glance at their party. Just like in the leaf, it seemed a group of girls had formed and started to follow them. Naruto glanced back at them, receiving a chorus of giggles and squeals. He scratched his head sheepishly, unaware of a fuming Temari to his right. Temari's mouth was fixed in a growl as she looked back at Naruto's fan club. Something about them just infuriated her. Her eyes were drawn back to the tall boy beside her. Sure Naruto had looks going for him. Tall, muscular, tanned skin, bright blue eyes, and that golden hair, and yet they didn't know him. They didn't know who he was, what he had gone through.

Temari sighed. She knew, she had a brother going through similar stuff. Being a jinchuriki was not an easy burden, how can he be so happy? The thought had never crossed her mind before, _how can Naruto be so happy? So good natured, when his entire life he's been treated like garbage?_ She pondered the question as they made their way to Gaara's office. The kazekage had been absent for quite a long time, he would be occupied for weeks on end doing "Makeup" work. _I have my own responsibilities as the sister of the kazekage..._

"Temari, would you show them the hotel most ninja from the leaf stay at? I'm needed at a council meeting." Gaara asked his sister. He started to walk out of the room then stopped at the door, cocking his head towards her.

The tall konoichi nodded in confirmation before leading the group away from the tower and through the twisting streets of suna to a large stone building built on a slight hill that overlooked a good portion of the town. She pointed towards it, "This is where you can rest up, I'm assuming that would be best considering the conditions last night. If your needed back right away we will understand."

Neji waved her off, Tsunade had told him they had 5 days to complete the mission, including returning home. They would make better time if they were well rested, so it made sense to spend one night in Suna before returning home.

"We would love to stay here," Tenten said smiling at Temari. She really wanted to rest up and relax for a bit, she hadn't gotten as good of sleep as she had hoped. Shino remained silent, glancing around every few seconds. It was clear the bug user didn't feel entirely comfortable in the desert. As Temari turned away from the group, claiming she had matters to attend to she caught Naruto's eyes, and gave him a look meaning _We will talk later_. She had some questions for him, several about the mysterious sword strapped to his back.

Hours later Naruto sat on the roof of the hotel, watching the moon drift steadily higher into the sky. Neji and the others had retired for the night, but he had a feeling he should stay up. Night's in the leaf are pretty, but the stars are much more clear here... _I wonder what it would be like to live here, to have grown up here. Naruto's thoughts instantly shifted to Temari. What was her childhood like?_ They had seemed to avoid those parts of their lives when they talked, Naruto especially. He had no problem talking about Sasuke, but talking about the fox didn't sit right with him. He turned his head when he sensed a very familiar chakra approaching from his left.

"Temari." The name came from his mouth in a soft, but clear tone. The suna girl was clad in a tight black kimono, making her look professional but almost cute at the same time. She sat next to him on the stone of the roof, only several feet away. The silence between them started out very comfortable, but soon turned awkward. Once again they found that they both had a lot on their minds.

"What's the story with the sword?" She asked him breaking the silence. He slowly recounted the events leading up to the creation of Gin Tora, making sure to include how the sword was able to communicate with him. _Come to think of it, it hasn't talked to me in a long time..._ He thought as he finished his tale.

Temari didn't understand it all, which was evident by the look of determination on her face as she tried to work it out mentally. She didn't have much to go on really, how could she understand the mysteries behind the sword? _A sword talking? That blonde idiot..._

While Temari's thoughts were focused on the sword, Naruto's were focused on her. How many nights since his return had he spent with this girl? How many had he spent simply watching the sky. Is this really our last night together? When will I see her again? The thought of them going their separate ways crossed his mind briefly and he forced it away. Just because they would be in different villages doesn't mean they wouldn't ever see each other again, right? Their relationship had started out almost forced, Naruto wanting to help out his friends by giving them a place to stay. But now he wanted to be with her, he wanted to be around her. Things had evolved so they were more than just roommates, they were friends. Friends.

"Naruto." Temari asked as she gazed into his Sapphire eyes. They looked distant, like he was in deep thought. There was no alcohol running through his veins, nothing to impair his judgment. And yet a large hand found it way to Temari's and hesitantly wrapped around it, pulling her fingers into his, interlocking them.

"Naru-? She was cut off by the look in his eyes. A look she hadn't seen. A look of intensity that almost made her tremble, but she knew it wasn't bad. The hand tightened somewhat and she frowned at the boy. What happened within the last 10 minutes? Did I do something?

"Naruto? What's wrong." She asked in a soothing voice. The hand loosened a little, and his eyes lost some of their fire.

"Will we see each other again?" The question caught her off guard. She stumbled with his words. _Would we see each other again?_ It wasn't often Temari went to Konoha, and even when she did it wasn't for more than a day or two. When she was there she had business to attend to, meaning she couldn't goof off with Naruto like she had. How much time would they really have? Now that Naruto was a Jonin he would have even more missions, and they would be dangerous. This was the moment she had been dreading all week, the moment they would say their goodbyes.

She broke eye contact and looked away briefly, gazing at moonlit sky. Slowly she scooted towards him and laid her head on his muscular shoulder, he smiled. If there was one thing the two shared, it was understanding. An arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer to him, holding her in a warm embrace. Time seemed to stop for the two, everything was in slow motion. Naruto silently wished it would last forever, this moment.

"Don't worry, I'll see you again soon, you always seem to get into trouble." She said smiling as the boy laughed.

"Yeah and you'll be there to help me out, right?" He responded looking into her eyes. She grinned and nodded her head. He would need her, she was sure of it. Temari slowly rose from her position on the roof and frowned at the boy.

"I have to go now, it's getting late. I wonder what Gaara would think if I returned too late..." She said the last part jokingly, Gaara could probably care less. But it was getting late, evident by the dropping temperatures and the very few remaining lit up houses. Naruto rose to his feet as well, barely making any noise at all. It was almost eerily quiet, as the took simply watched each other. Without warning Temari leapt forward, planting a small kiss on Naruto's lips. The fox boy felt a small amount of color rise to his cheeks as he held his hand up to his lips. Did she just, kiss me?

It had happened so fast, and Temari was already turning away.

"I'll see you off tomorrow." She said glancing back with a small smile. The wind mistress then dashed away across the rooftops, leaving a confused but happy blonde idiot standing there. His hands were in his pockets, his black kimono billowing slightly in the wind.

Naruto, Neji, Tenten, and Shino stood at the entrance of the village. The night spent in suna had effectively restored their missed sleep, just as the Hyuga had predicted. Before them stood the Kazekage, and his sandy haired sister. The two of them had said polite farewells to the other memebers of the sqaud besides Naruto. Finally Gaara turned to him, a very serious expression on his face.

"The Akatsuki are going to come for us eventually, and this time they might send even more men. Be prepared, and don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it." The red haired teen then extended his arm, opening his hand to Naruto. On his palm was a small flat stone, bearing the markings of the Hidden Sand village.

"This is a gift for you, its a chakra stone. If you need help simply channel chakra into it, and I'll be alerted via my stone." With the last few words he pulled an identical stone out of his left pocket.

Naruto smiled and carefully took the flat smooth stone from the kazekages hand, slipping it into one of the hidden pockets on the inside of his kimono. _This seems very useful... I wonder why we don't use these in the leaf._

"Be careful," Gaara said as he crossed his arms. Naruto offered him a smile then turned to Temari. She was wearing a black kimono, much like the night before. This time she had her massive battle fan strapped to the top of her hip, and a kunai pouch to the left of her knee. The look in her eyes was somewhat pained, she bit her lip.

"Good bye Naruto." She said in a small voice.

"Goodbye Temari." He responded pulling her into a hug. Little did they know the Village hidden in the Leaves needed help, and fast.

Pein's Deva path landed in front of the village gate, black cloak with red flames billowing around him. _Now to find the **Nine Tails**..._


End file.
